HAND  BOOK 

FOR 

AMERICAN   CITIZENS  ; 

OR, 

THINGS  EVERY  PATRIOT  SHOULD  KNOW. 


HENRY  MANN, 

Author  of  "  Ancient  and  Medieval  Republics.' 


PUBLISHED  BY 
THE    CHRISTIES' 

LOUIS  KLOPSCH,  Proprietor, 
BIBLE  HOUSE,  NEW  YORK. 


Copyright  1895. 
BY  Louis  KLOPSCH. 


PRESS  AND  BINDERY  OP 
HISTORICAL  PUBLISHING  CO, 

PHILADELPHIA. 


PREFACE. 


The  object  in  issuing  this  manual  is  to  place  in 
the  hands  of  the  citizen  a  weapon  which  will  arm 
him  for  the  performance  of  his  duties  and  the  de- 
fence of  his  rights.  The  information  herein  con- 
tained has  been  carefully  compiled  from  trust- 
worthy sources.  It  is  not  specially  intended  for 
the  theorist ;  it  deals  with  the  Republic  as  it  has 
been  and  as  it  is,  and  with  the  Constitution  and 
laws  as  they  are,  and  not  as  this  or  that  dreamer 
thinks  that  they  ought  to  be.  If  knowledge  is 
power,  then  the  citizen  who  reads  and  studies  this 
book  will  have  power — power  to  do  his  part  intel- 
ligently in  upholding  the  institutions  whose  estab- 
lishment has  cost  so  much,  and  on  whose  perma- 
nence the  happiness  of  mankind  may  depend.  The 
Old  Flag  appears  all  the  dearer  and  more  glorious 
the  more  we  study  the  history  which  it  represents, 
and  the  rights  and  privileges  won  for  us  by  the  men 
who  bore  it  through  the  storms  of  many  a  battle- 
field. The  American  who  fails  to  acquaint  himself 
with  the  origin  and  character  of  American  institu- 
tions, and  with  his  own  rights  and  obligations  as 
.  a  citizen  and  a  sovereign  is  lacking  in  loyalty  to 
his  country,  to  his  home  and  to  himself. 


2076079 


CONTENTS. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  NATION. 

Character  of  the  Colonists,  17 
Becoming  a  Nation,  ...   21 
Beginning  of  the  Union,  .   22 
Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence,  23 

Articles  of  Confederation,  28 
Washington's       Resigna- 
tion,   39 

Demand  for  a  Constitu- 
tion  41 

Constitution  of  the  United 

States 43 

Washington's  Farewell 
Address, 63 

PART  II. 

THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE. 

Not  a  Part  of  National 
Law, 82 

Text  of  the  Monroe  Doc- 
trine  83 

Minister  Anderson  at 
Bogota, 84 

The  Holy  Alliance  and  the 
Monroe  Doctrine,  .  .  86 

How  Seward  Enforced 
the  Monroe  Doctrine,  88 

The  Monroe  Doctrine  To- 
day   91 


(13) 


THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE. 

Antagonism  Between 

North  and  South,  .   .    98 
Beginning    of    Negro 
Slavery,  .......   94 

The  Missouri  Compromise,  95 
The  Wilmot  Proviso, .  .  .    96 
Compromise  of  1850,  ...   98 
The  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  88 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  Act,  105 
Buchanan's     Hope— Lin- 
coln's Prophecy,  .  .  .  106 
Emancipation   Proclama- 
tion  108 


THE  TARIFF  ISSUE. 

As  Old  as  the  Union,  ...  Ill 
Tariff  Legislation,  ....  112 
The  Tariff  After  the  War,114 
Becomes  the  Leading  Is-  , 

sue, .114 

The  Wilson  Tariff  Law,  .116 
Tariff  Rates  Compared,  .117 
Reciprocity,  . 118 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 


THE  SILVER  QUESTION. 

Demonetization  of  Silver,121 
Hirer  and  Gold  Values,  .123 
The  Bland-Allison  Act, .  123 

The  Sherman  Act 124 

Repeal  of  Silver  Purchase,125 
Demands  of  Silver  Advo- 
cates,     126 


PAET  VL 

TRUSTS     AND     MONOPO- 
LIES. 

Monopoly  Described,  .  .128 
Political  Power  of  Trusts,  129 
The  United  States  Anti- 
Trust  Law 130 

State  Laws  Against  Trusts,132 


LABOR   IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES, 


Labor's    Marvelous    Pro- 


Effect  of  Independence  on 
Labor, 135 

The  Workingman's  Politi- 
cal Enfranchisement,136 

Labor  Organization  and 
Labor  Laws 137 


RELIGION  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Church  and  State, ....  139 
Church  Support  in  Massa- 

chussetts, 140 

Church  and  State  in  Con- 
necticut  142 

The  Mormon  Hierarchy  .  142 
Religious  Statistics,  .  .  .  14S 
The   Various   Denomina- 
tions,     145 

Non-Orthodox  Bodies, .  .147 
Success  of  the  Voluntary 
System, 147 


CITIZENSHIP  AND  SUF- 
FRAGE. 

The  Citizen's  Obligations 

and  Rights, 148 

Voting  is  a  Privilege, .  .  14£ 
Qualifications  for  Voting, 

Past  and  Present,  .  .151 
Woman  Suffrage,  ....  154 
Secret  Voting— The  Aus- 
tralian System,  ...  155 
Naturalized  Citizens,  .  .156 
Rights  of  Citizens  Abroad,159 


CONT 

PAGE 

PAKT  X. 

NATIONAL  PARTIES  AND 
ADMINISTRATIONS. 

Federalists  and  Anti-Fed- 
eralists,            160 

BNTS.                             15 

PAGE 

PABT  XL—  Continued. 

John  Tyler,   196 
James  K.  Polk,    197 
Zachary  Taylor,  199 
Millard  Fillmore,   .  .  .  .  200 
Franklin  Pierce  202 
James  Buchanan,   .   .   .  .  204 
Abraham  Lincoln,  ....  205 
Andrew  Johnson,  ....  209 
Ulysses  S.  Grant,  210 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,    .  .  212 
James  A.  Garfield,  ....  213 
Chester  A.  Arthur,        .  .  215 
Grover  Cleveland,  .  .   .  .  217 
Benjamin  Harrison,  ...  219 

PAKT  XIL 

Republican  National  Plat- 
form,      222 

The  Democratic  and  Wig 
Parties           162 

The  Liberty  Party,     .  .  .  1G3 
Free  Soil  Democrats,     .  .  165 
The  Know-Nothing  Party,  1G7 
The  Republican  Party,    .  168 
The  Democrats  Divide,    .  169 
UaoolnXteoted,  .  .  .  .    ifi9 

Liberal  Republicans,    .  .  171 
Electoral  Commission,     .  172 
Protection  to  the  Front,  .  173 
The  Populist  Party,  .  .  .  175 
The  President  and  Riots,  176 

Democratic  National  Plat- 
form,      .            .        227 

PABT  XL 

PRESIDENTS       OP      THE 
i_        UNITED  STATES. 

George  Washington,  .  .  .179 
John  Adams,    181 
Thomas  Jefferson,  .  .  .  .  183 
James  Madison,  184 
James  Monroe,    186 
John  Quincy  Adams,    .  .  188 
Andrew  Jackson,    ....  190 
Martin  Van  Buren,    .  .  .  191 
William  H.  Harrison,  .  .  193 

The  People's  Party  Plat- 
form,       .                      236 

The  Prohibition  Platform,  242 

PAKT  XHL 
The  Pension  Roll  248 

PABT  XIV. 

Important    Events    in 
American  History,  .  .  261 

PART  I. 
THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  NATION. 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  COLONISTS. 

To  comprehend  with  intelligence  the  rights  and 
obligations  of  citizenship,  and  the  political  condi- 
tions under  which  we  live,  it  is  necessary  to  glance 
back  to  the  origin  of  American  institutions.  The 
American  Republic  did  not  spring  into  being  sud- 
denly, like  Minerva  from  the  brain  of  Jove.  The 
origin  of  our  nation  and  of  its  fundamental  laws 
must  be  sought  far  back  in  the  ages.  Their  root 
was  in  that  English  middle  class,  removed  alike 
from  noble  and  from  serf,  which  retained  and  cul- 
tivated throughout  every  vicissitude  of  civil  and 
religious  revolution  the  sturdy  and  homely  virtues 
of  their  ancestry.  The  spirit  which  enabled  the 
founders  of  these  States  to  overcome  every  obstacle 
which  English  jealousy  and  savage  hostility  could 
place  in  their  way,  was  the  spirit  which  our  Ger- 
manic ancestors  displayed  when  they  battled  for 
their  liberties  under  Arminius  ;  it  was  the  spirit  of 
the  barons  at  Runnymede  and  of  the  seamen  who 
confronted  the  Armada.  The  men  who  fashioned 
the  rude  beginnings  of  American  nationality  were 
chiefly  Englishmen  of  the  seventeenth  century,  un- 
tainted by  the  corruption  of  the  court,  deeply  im- 
bued with  religious  sentiment  and  with  a  high 
esteem  for  secular  learning,  in  which  indeed  many 
of  them  were  thoroughly  proficient.  While  they 
loved  freedom  they  detested  anarchy,  and  had 
the  strongest  respect  even  for  the  technicalities  of 
law. 

(17) 


i8  HAND  BOOK  FOk 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  religious  intolerance 
which  some  of  the  early  settlers — especially  the 
Puritans — displayed  toward  dissenters  from  the  re- 
ligious creed  of  the  majority.  As  to  this  it  ought 
to  be  sufficient  to  state  that  the  Puritan  colonies 
did  not  invite  promiscuous  immigration  any  more 
than  a  religious  community  of  the  present  day 
throws  open  its  doors  to  strangers  irrespective  of 
their  religious  belief.  The  Puritan  communities 
were  intended  for  Puritans  only,  and  all  others 
were  trespassers.  That  this  was  the  Puritan  view 
was  shown  by  the  declaration  of  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  the  effect  that  the  Quakers 
who  had  been  put  to  death,  when  they  returned 
after  banishment  from  the  colony,  were  guilty  of 
suicide.  Of  course,  in  this  enlightened  age,  such 
an  explanation  appears  grotesquely  inadequate,  but 
it  shows  that  the  Puritans  were  not  cruel  for  cruel- 
ty's sake.  They  had  sailed  thousands  of  miles  to 
worship  God  in  their  own  way,  without  intrusion 
or  molestation,  and  they  resented  molestation  after 
the  fashion  of  the  century  in  which  they  lived.  If 
their  course  was  tyrannical,  it  was  tyranny  very 
different  in  degree  from  that  of  the  persecutors  in 
England,  who  drove  Englishmen  from  their  homes 
because  they  would  not  conform  to  the  established 
creed.  However  the  early  settlers  of  New  England 
were  not  all  averse  to  religious  liberty.  Rhode 
Island  gave  a  lively  example  of  order  combined 
with  complete  freedom  of  conscience,  no  member 
of  the  community  founded  by  Roger  Williams 
and  his  associates  being  under  any  compulsion 
whatever  as  to  the  profession  or  practice  of  reli- 
gion. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  other  religious  ele- 
ments, beside  Puritan  and  Pilgrim,  had  their  part 
in  the  early  settlements — the  Quakers  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  Huguenots  in  South  Carolina  and  the 
Roman  Catholics  in  Maryland.  Some  attempt  has 
been  made  to  claim  for  the  last-mentioned  the 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  19 

credit  which  really  belongs  to  the  founders  of 
Rhode  Island,  of  making  religious  freedom  an  ori- 
ginal feature  of  their  colonial  laws.  The  obvious 
feet  is  that  in  the  condition  of  English  feeling  at 
that  time  toward  the  Pope  and  his  spiritual  sub- 
jects, Roman  Catholics  would  not  have  been  per- 
mitted to  persecute  Protestants  on  any  soil  subject 
to  the  English  crown,  and  in  addition  the  so-called 
toleration  in  Maryland  was  not  toleration  at  all,  as 
compared  with  the  complete  liberty  which  pre- 
vailed in  Rhode  Island;  the  Maryland  statutes 
providing,  for  instance,  that  any  person  speaking 
disrespectfully  of  the  mother  of  Christ  should  have 
the  tongue  bored  with  a  red-hot  iron.  The  Mary- 
land claim  to  precedence  over  New  England  in  rec- 
ognizing the  rights  of  conscience  will  not  stand 
the  test  of  impartial  examination.  That  torch  was 
lighted  on  the  shores  of  Narragansett,  not  Chesa- 
peake Bay. 

The  religious  element  did  not  enter  largely  into 
the  settlement  of  colonies  other  than  those  already 
named.  The  thrifty  Dutch  intended  to  use  New 
Amsterdam  for  a  trading  post ;  the  Virginia  colo- 
nists were  adventurers,  and  Carolina  was  designed  to 
be  the  field  of  an  absurd  scheme  of  government, 
conceived  in  the  brain  of  Locke.  The  object  of 
William  Penn  in  settling  Pennsylvania  was  more 
humanitarian  than  religious,  and  at  the  same  time 
not  unmingled  with  a  desire  for  personal  aggran- 
dizement. 

The  American  colonists  were  Englishmen,  and 
had  no  desire  for  or  thought  of  political  separation 
from  the  mother  country,  Of  course  I  include  in 
this  designation  the  Dutch,  the  German,  the 
Swedish,  French  and  any  other  alien  settlers  who 
were  politically  absorbed  by  the  English.  The 
colonists  considered  themselves  entitled  to  all  of  an 
Englishman's  rights  and  privileges,  and  those  of 
New  England  were  earnest  and  even  aggressive 
in  asserting  their  rights.  The  influence  of  New 


20  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

England  upon  the  destinies  of  Old  England  was 
already  apparent,  while  the  generation  which  landed 
at  Plymouth  and  Boston  remained  in  its  prime.  The 
sympathy  between  the  exiled  dissenters  and  their 
brethren  at  home  was  warm  and  energetic,  and  it 
might  be  said  that  the  first  English  Revolution — 
the  uprising  of  the  English  middle  class  against 
the  tyranny  of  King  and  Church — had  its  blowpipe 
in  Massachusetts.  Nevertheless  the  feeling  of  the 
colonists,  down  to  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  was 
always  loyal  and  friendly  toward  the  British  con- 
nection, and  even  in  Massachusetts  there  was  very 
little  public  expression  of  disloyalty.  Looking 
over  the  newspapers  of  the  earlier  years  in  the  lat- 
ter half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  I  have  been 
surprised  to  note  the  adulatory  language  used  re- 
garding the  king  and  crown  of  Great  Britain.  It 
is  clear  that  only  the  gravest  oppression  could  have 
driven  the  colonists  to  sever  the  ties  which  bound 
them  to  England,  and  that  but  for  the  madness 
which  possessed  George  III.  and  his  advisers  the 
colonies  would  have  remained  a  part  of  the  British 
empire. 

It  is  a  mistake,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  the 
American  Revolution  had  its  conception  in  a  desire 
for  absolute  independence.  The  colonists  simply 
resisted  the  withdrawal  and  denial  of  rights  which 
belonged  to  them  as  British  subjects.  The  Revolu- 
tion had  been  in  progress  for  some  time  before  it 
became  a  war  for  independence.  At  first  it  was 
only  armed  resistance  to  oppression.  General 
Washington,  when  he  commanded  at  Cambridge, 
regarded  his  own  forces  as  in  once  sense  British, 
and  spoke  of  his  antagonists  as  "  the  ministerial 
troops."  Even  then  George  III.,  by  timely  and 
reasonable  concessions,  might  have  saved  America 
for  Great  Britain,  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that,  when 
the  time  came  to  declare  independence,  some  who 
had  been  most  earnest  patriots  up  to  that  limit, 
refused  to  cast  their  lot  with  their  countrymen. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS  11 

BECOMING  A   NATION. 

When  the  colonies  threw  off  the  British  yoke, 
the  change  was  accompanied  by  no  local  changes  of 
serious  moment.  Each  colony  already  had  its 
local  government,  the  chief  of  which  was  either 
appointed  by  the  king,  as  in  New  York,  or  elected 
by  the  colonists  themselves,  as  in  Rhode  Island. 
The  machinery  of  local  government  was  perfect  in 
itself,  and  sufficiently  democratic  to  be  readily 
adapted  to  the  new  conditions.  The  colony  be- 
came a  State,  with  a  legislature  and  officials  sub- 
stantially as  before,  but  no  longer  acknowledging 
allegiance  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain.  This 
state  of  affairs  was  in  one  sense  a  great  help  and  in 
another  a  great  hindrance  to  the  cause  of  indepen- 
dence. The  local  machinery  of  government  pro- 
ceeding without  clash  or  disorder,  was  useful  in 
organizing  support  for  the  general  cause,  and  in 
proving  to  the  people  that  the  royal  guardianship 
had  not  been  necessary  to  their  welfare — that  it 
had  been  potent  only  for  evil.  On  the  other  hand 
the  division  of  power  among  so  many  different 
States,  each  a  centre  of  authority  and  jealous  of  its 
recently  acquired  sovereignty,  tended  to  hamper 
and  embarrass  the  military  arm  of  the  nation.  Had 
the  first  French  Republic  been  divided  into  as 
many  States  as  there  were  provinces  in  old  France, 
instead  of  being  directed  by  that  relentless  and 
terrible  Convention,  it  could  surely  not  have  pre- 
sented the  fierce  and  successful  resistance  to  em- 
battled Europe  which  it  did  present.  In  the  late 
Southern  Confederacy,  notwithstanding  that  it  was 
founded  on  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  State's  Rights, 
the  central  government  at  Richmond  soon  saw  that 
the  recognition  of  State  sovereignty  was  incom- 
patible with  effective  and  concentrated  military 
effort,  and  the  Confederacy  became  a  military  des- 
potism, the  State  governments  retaining  only  the 
shadow  of  power.  Had  Washington  not  been 


22  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

possessed  of  nearly  superhuman  fortitude  and  dis- 
cretion, the  jealousy  and  selfishness  of  the  con- 
federated States  might  have  defeated  the  cause 
which  he  carried  to  a  providential  conclusion. 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  UNION. 

The  American  Union  had  its  beginning  on  Mon- 
day, the  fifth  of  September,  1774,  when  there  as- 
sembled at  Carpenter's  Hall,  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, a  number  of  men  who  had  been  chosen 
and  appointed  by  the  several  colonies  in  North 
America  to  hold  a  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
cussing the  grievances  imputed  against  the  mother- 
country.  This  Congress  resolved  on  the  next  day 
that  each  colony  should  have  one  vote  only.  On 
Tuesday,  the  second  of  July,  1776,  the  Congress 
resolved,  "  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of 
right  ought  to  be,  Free  and  Independent  States," 
etc.,  etc. ;  and  on  Thursday,  the  fourth  of  July,  the 
whole  Declaration  of  Independence  having  been 
agreed  upon,  it  was  publicly  read  to  the  people. 
Shortly  after,  on  the  ninth  of  September,  it  was 
resolved  that  the  words  "  United  Colonies"  should 
be  no  longer  used,  and  that  the  "  UNITED  STATES 
OF  AMERICA  "  should  thenceforward  be  the  style 
and  title  of  the  Unioa  On  Saturday,  the  fifteenth 
of  November,  1777,  c  Articles  of  Confederation 
and  Perpetual  Uniou  of  the  United  States  of 
America"  were  agreed  to  by  the  State  delegates, 
subject  to  the  ratification  of  the  State  Legislatures 
severally.  Eight  of  the  States  ratified  these  articles 
on  the  ninth  of  July,  1778  ;  one  on  the  twenty-first 
of  July;  one  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  July  ;  one  on 
the  twenty-sixth  of  November  of  the  same  year  ; 
one  on  the  twenty-second  of  February,  1779  \  a°d 
the  last  one  on  the  first  of  March,  1781.  Here  was 
a  bond  of  union  between  thirteen  independent 
States,  whose  delegates  in  Congress  legislated  for 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  23 

the  general  welfare,  and  executed  certain  powers, 
so  far  as  they  were  permitted  by  the  articles  afore- 
said. 

As  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  preceded 
by  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that — the 
greatest  document  of  human  origin  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world — should  be  given  first.  It  is 
as  follows  : 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 
IN  CONGRESS — THURSDAY,  JULY  4,  1776. 

AGREEABLY  to  the  order  of  the  day,  the  Congress  re- 
solved itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into 
their  further  consideration  the  Declaration ;  and  after 
some  time  the  President  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Har- 
rison reported  that  the  committee  had  agreed  to  a  decla- 
ration, which  they  desired  him  to  report.  (The  com- 
mittee consisted  of  Jefferson,  Franklin,  John  Adams, 
Sherman  and  R.  R.  Livingston.) 

The  Declaration  being  read,  was  agreed  to,  as  follows  : 

A  DECLARATION 

BY   THE   REPRESENTATIVES   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES   OF 
AMERICA,   IN  CONGRESS  ASSEMBLED. 

WHEN,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes 
necessary  for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands 
which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume, 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal 
station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God 
entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  man- 
kind requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which 
impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men 
are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator 
with  certain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these,  are 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  de- 
riving their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed  : 


24  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

that,  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  de- 
structive of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  'o 
alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  government, 
laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  organizing 
its,po\vers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely 
to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed, 
will  dictate  that  governments  long  established,  should  not 
be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes;  and,  accord- 
ingly, all  experience  hath  shown,  that  mankind  are  more 
disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right 
themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  ac- 
customed. But,  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpa- 
tions, pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design 
to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right, 
it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and  to  pro- 
vide new  guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been 
the  patient  sufferance  of  these  colonies,  and  such  is  now 
the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former 
systems  of  government.  The  history  of  the  present 
King  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and 
usurpations,  all  having,  in  direct  object,  the  establishment 
of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  states.  To  prove  this, 
let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world  : 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome 
and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  Governors  to  pass  laws  of  imme- 
diate and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their 
operation  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained;  and  when  so 
suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would 
relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  legislature ; 
a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants 
only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  un- 
usual, uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  depository  of 
their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them 
into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for 
opposing,  with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights 
of  the  people. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  25 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions, 
to  cause  others  to  be  elected ;  whereby  the  legislative 
powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the 
people  at  large  for  their  exercise ;  the  state  remaining,  in 
the  mean  time,  exposed  to  all  the  danger  of  invasion  from 
without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these 
states,  for  that  purpose,  obstructing  the  laws  for  natural- 
ization of  foreigners ;  refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage 
their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new 
appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice  by 
refusing  his  assent  to.  laws  for  establishing  judiciary 
powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone,  for 
the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of 
their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent 
hither  swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people,  and  eat  out 
their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  standing; 
armies,  without  the  consent  of  our  legislature. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of 
and  superior  to  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined,  with  others,  to  subject  us  to  a  juris-, 
diction  foreign  to  our  constitution,  and  unacknowledged 
by  our  laws ;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended 
legislation : 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  usj 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment, 
for  any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabi-. 
tants  of  these  states ; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world ; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent ; 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial) 
by  jury ; 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pre- 
tended offences ; 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a. 
neighboring  province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary 


26  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render 
it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing 
the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  colonies ; 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most 
valuable  laws,  and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  powers  of 
our  governments ; 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring 
themselves  invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all 
cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out 
of  his  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt 
our  towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is,  at  this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation, 
and  tyranny,  already  begun,  with  circumstances  of  cruelty 
and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages, 
and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive 
on  the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  countiy,  to 
become  the  executioners  of  their  Iriends  and  brethren,  or 
to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and 
has  endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  fron- 
tiers, the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of 
warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction,  of  all  ages, 
sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned 
for  redress,  in  the  most  humble  terms ;  our  repeated  peti- 
tions have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A 
prince,  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act 
which  may  define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  lo  be  the  ruler  of  a  free 
people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attention  to  our  British 
brethren.  We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of 
attempts  made  by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwar- 
rantable jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them 
of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration  and  settlement 
tere.  We  have  appealed  to  their  naJive  justice  ami  mag' 
naiiimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  oi  our 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  27 

common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which 
would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and  correspon- 
dence. They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice 
and  consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the 
necessity,  which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them, 
as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies  in  war  —  in  peace, 
friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  UNITED 
STATES  OF  AMERICA,  in  GENERAL  CONGRESS 
assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  World 
for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name,  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  colonies, 
solemnly  publish  and  declare,  That  these  United  Colonies 
are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  FREE  AND  INDEPENDENT 
STATES;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to 
the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  be- 
tween them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain,  is,  and  ought 
to  be,  totally  dissolved;  and  that,  as  FREE  AND 
INDEPENDENT  STA  TES,  they  have  full  power 
to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish 
commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which 
INDEPENDENT  STATES  may  of  right  to  do.  And, 
for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance 
on  the  protection  of  DIVINE  PROVIDENCE,  we  mu- 
tually pledge  to  each  other,  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and 
our  sacred  honor. 

The  foregoing  Declaration  was,  by  order  of  Congress, 
engrossed,  and  signed  by  the  following  members  : 

JOHN  HANCOCK. 

New  Hampshire.  Rhode  Island, 


, 

MATTHEW  THORNTON.  WILLIAM  ELLERY. 

Connecticut.  New    York. 

ROGER  SHERMAN,  WILLIAM  FLOYD, 

SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON,  PHILIP  LIVINGSTON, 

WILLIAM  WTILLIAMS,  FRANCIS  LEWIS, 

OLIVER  WOLCOTT.  LEWIS  MORRIS. 


28 


HAND  BOOK  FOR 


New  Jersey. 

RICHARD  STOCKTON, 
JOHN  WITHERSPOON, 
FRANCIS  HOPKINSON, 
JOHN  HART, 
ABRAHAM  CLARK. 

Pennsylvania. 

ROBERT  MORRIS, 
BENJAMIN  RUSH, 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN, 
JOHN  MORTON, 
GEORGE  CLYMER, 
JAMES  SMITH, 
GEORGE  TAYLOR, 
JAMES  WILSON, 
GEORGE  Ross. 

Massachusetts   Bay. 

SAMUEL  ADAMS, 
JOHN  ADAMS, 
ROBERT  TREAT  PAINE, 
ELBRIDGE  GERRY. 

Delaware. 

CAESAR  RODNEY, 
GEORGE  READ, 
THOMAS  M'KEAN. 


Maryland. 
SAMUEL  CHASE, 
WILLIAM  PACA, 
THOMAS  STONE, 
JAMES  CARROLL,  of  Carrolk 
ton. 

Virginia. 
GEORGE  WYTHE, 
RICHARD  HENRY  LEE, 
THOMAS  JEFFERSON, 
BENJAMIN  HARRISON, 
THOMAS  NELSON,  JUN., 
FRANCIS  LIGHTFOOT  LEE, 
CARTER  BRAXTON. 

North  Carolina. 
WILLIAM  HOOPER, 
JOSEPH  HEWES, 
JOHN  PENN. 

South   Carolina. 
EDWARD  RUTLEDGE, 
THOMAS  HEYWARD,  JUN., 
ARTHUR  MIDDLETON. 

Georgia. 

BUTTON  GWINNETT, 
LYMAN  HALL, 
GEORGE  WALTON. 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 

The  Articles  of  Confederation  were  adopted  by 
Congress  about  two  years  after  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  were  intended  to  bind  the  States 
together  for  an  effective  prosecution  of  the  war,  as 
well  as  to  insure  their  perpetual  union  for  the  com- 
mon welfare  and  defence.  The  independence  of 
the  United  States  had  been  acknowledged  by 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  29 

France  in  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and  the  Amer- 
ican cause  had  been  made  more  hopeful  by  Wash- 
ington's victory  at  Monmouth.  Although  com- 
monly known  as  Articles  of  Confederation,  it 
should  be  kept  in  mind  that  their  full  designation, 
as  already  stated,  was  "Articles  of  Confederation 
and  Perpetual  Union."  They  were  as  follows  : 

IN  CONGRESS,  July  8,  1778. 

ARTICLES   OF   CONFEDERATION   AND   PERPETUAL     UNION 

Between  the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachtiscits 
Bay,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Con- 
necticztt,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Dela- 
ivaret  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  and  Georgia. 

Art.  i.  The  style  of  this  confederacy  shall  be,  "  The 
United  States  of  America" 

Art.  2.  Each  state  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom,  and 
independence,  and  every  power,  jurisdiction,  and  right, 
which  is  not  by  this  confederation  expressly  delegated  to 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

Art.  3.  The  said  states  hereby  severally  enter  into  a 
firm  league  of  friendship  with  each  other,  for  their  com- 
mon defence,  the  security  of  their  liberties,  and  their 
mutual  and  general  welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist 
each  other  against  all  force  offered  to,  or  attacks  made 
upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on  account  of  religion,  sover- 
eignty, trade,  or  any  other  pretence  whatever. 

Art.  4.  g  I.  The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate  mutual 
friendship  and  intercourse  among  the  people  of  the  differ- 
ent states  in  this  union,  the  free  inhabitants  of  each  of 
Ihese  states,  paupers — vagabonds,  and  fugitives  from  jus- 
tice excepted — shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  im- 
munities of  free  citizens  in  the  several  states  :  and  the 
people  of  each  state  shall  have  free  ingress  and  egress  to 
and  from  any  other  state,  and  shall  enjoy  therein  all  the 
privileges  of  trade  and  commerce,  subject  to  the  same 
duties,  impositions,  and  restrictions,  as  the  inhabitants 
tnereof  respectively ;  provided,  that  such  restrictions  shall 


30  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

not  extend  so  far  as  to  prevent  the  removal  of  property 
imported  into  any  state,  to  any  other  state,  of  which  the 
owner  is  an  inhabitant ;  provided  also,  that  no  imposition, 
duties,  or  restriction,  shall  be  laid  by  any  state  on  the  pro- 
perty of  the  United  States,  or  either  of  them. 

g  2.  If  any  person,  guilty  of,  or  charged  with  treason, 
felony,  or  other  high  misdemeanor,  in  any  state,  shall  flee 
from  justice,  and  be  found  in  any  of  the  United  States,  he 
shall,,  upon  the  demand  of  the  governor  or  executive 
power  of  the  state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up 
and  removed  to  the  state  having  jurisdiction  of  his  offence. 

g  3.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given,  in  each  of 
these  states,  to  the  records,  acts,  and  judicial  proceedings 
of  the  courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other  state. 

Art.  5.  $  i.  For  the  more  convenient  management  of 
the  general  interests  of  the  United  States,  delegates  shall 
be  annually  appointed  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
of  each  state  shall  direct,  to  meet  in  Congress  on  the  first 
Monday  in  November  in  every  year,  with  a  power  re- 
served to  each  state  to  recall  its  delegates;  or  any  of  them, 
at  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  send  others  in  their 
stead,  for  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

§  2.  No  state  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by  less 
than  two,  nor  more  than  seven  members ;  and  no  person 
shall  be  capable  of  being  a  delegate  for  more  than  three 
years,  in  any  term  of  six  years ;  nor  shall  any  person, 
being  a  delegate,  be  capable  of  holding  any  office  under 
the  United  States,  for  which  he,  or  any  other  for  his 
benefit,  receives  any  salary,  fees,  or  emolument,  of  any 
kind. 

§  3.  Each  state  shall  maintain  its  own  delegate  in  a 
meeting  of  the  states,  and  while  they  act  as  members  of 
the  committee  of  these  states. 

$  4.  In  determining  questions  in  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled,  each  state  shall  have  one  vote. 

g  5.  Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall 
not  be  impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court  or  place  out 
of  Congress,  and  the  members  of  Congress  shall  be  pro- 
tected in  their  persons  from  arrests  and  imprisonments 
during  the  time  of  their  going  to  and  from,  and  attend- 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  31 

ance  on  Congress,  except  for  treason,  felony,  cr  breach  of 
the  peace. 

Art.  6.  $  i.  No  state,  without  the  consent  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  send  any  embassy  to, 
or  receive  any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into  any  conference, 
agreement,  alliance,  or  treaty  with  any  king,  prince,  or 
state,  nor  shnll  any  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or 
trust  under  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them,  accept  of 
any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title  of  any  kind  what- 
ever, from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state ;  nor  shall  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  or  any  of  them, 
grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

$  2.  No  two  or  more  states  shall  enter  into  any  treaty, 
confederation,  or  alliance  whatever,  between  them,  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, specifying  accurately  the  purposes  for  which  the 
same  is  to  be  entered  into,  and  how  long  it  shall  continue. 

§  3.  No  state  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  which 
may  interfere  with  any  stipulations  in  treaties  entered  into 
by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  with  any 
king,  prince,  or  state,  in  pursuance  of  any  treaties  already 
proposed  by  Congress  to  the  courts  of  France  and  Spain. 

§  4.  No  vessels  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace 
by  any  state,  except  such  number  only  as  shall  be  deemed 
necessary  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  for 
the  defence  of  such  state,  or  its  trade ;  nor  shall  any  body 
of  forces  be  kept  up  by  any  state,  in  time  of  peace,  ex- 
cept such  number  only  as,  in  the  judgment  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  be  deemed  requisite 
to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for  the  defence  of  such 
state ;  but  every  state  shall  always  keep  up  a  well  regu- 
lated and  disciplined  militia,  sufficiently  armed  and  ac- 
coutred, and  shall  provide  and  constantly  have  ready  for 
use,  in  public  stores,  a  due  number  of  field- pieces  and 
tents,  and  a  proper  quantity  of  arms,  ammunition,  and 
camp  equipage. 

$  5.  No  state  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  unless 
swch  state  be  actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall  have 
received  certain  advice  of  a  resolution  being  formed  by 


32  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

some  nation  of  Indians  to  invade  such  state,  and  the 
•danger  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  admit  of  delay  till  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled  can  be  consulted  , 
nor  shall  any  state  grant  commissions  to  any  ships  or  ves- 
sels of  war,  nor  letters  of  marque  or  reprisal,  except  it  be 
•after  a  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  and  then  only  against  the  kingdom  or 
state,  and  the  subjects  thereof,  against  which  war  has 
been  so  declared,  and  under  such  regulations  as  shall  be 
established  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled, 
unless  such  state  be  infested  by  pirates,  in  which  case 
vessels  of  war  may  be  fitted  out  for  that  occasion,  and  kept 
so  long  as  the  danger  shall  continue,  or  until  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  determine  otherwise. 

Art.  7.  When  land  forces  are  raised  by  any  state  for  the 
common  defence,  all  officers  of  or  under  the  rank  of 
colonel,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  legislature  of  each  state 
respectively  by  whom  such  forces  shall  be  raised,  or  in 
such  manner  as  such  state  shall  direct,  and  all  vacancies 
shall  be  filled  up  by  the  state  which  first  made  the  appoint- 
ment. 

Art.  8.  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  expenses  that 
shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defence  or  general  wel- 
fare, and  allowed  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  as- 
sembled, shall  be  defrayed  out  of  a  common  treasury, 
which  shall  be  supplied  by  the  several  stales,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  value  of  all  land  within  each  state,  granted  to 
or  surveyed  for  any  person,  as  such  land  and  the  build- 
ings and  improvements  thereon  shall  be  estimated,  accord- 
ing to  such  mode  as  the  United  States  in  Congress  as- 
sembled shall,  from  time  to  time,  direct  and  appoint.  The 
taxes  for  paying  that  proportion  shall  be  laid  and  levied 
by  the  authority  and  direction  of  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  states  within  the  time  agreed  upon  by  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled. 

Art.  9.  $  i.  The  United  States  in  Congress  assem- 
bled shall  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of 
determining  on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the  cases  men- 
tioned in  the  sixth  article,  of  sending  and  receiving  am- 
bassadors ;  entering  into  treaties  and  alliances,  provided 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  33 

that  no  treaty  of  commerce  shall  be  made,  whereby  the 
legislative  power  of  the  respective  states  shall  be  re- 
strained from  imposing  such  imposts  and  duties  on  for- 
eigners, as  their  own  people  are  subjected  to,  or  from 
prohibiting  the  exportation  or  importation  of  any  species 
of  goods  or  commodities  whatsoever;  of  establishing 
rules  for  deciding  in  all  cases  what  captures  on  land  or 
water  shall  be  legal,  and  in  what  manner  prizes  taken  by 
land  or  naval  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  divided  or  appropriated  ;  of  granting  letters  of 
marque  and  reprisal  in  times  of  peace ;  appointing  courts 
for  the  trial  of  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas ;  and  establishing  courts  for  receiving  and  de- 
termining finally  appeals  in  all  cases  of  captures ;  provided 
that  no  member  of  Congress  shall  be  appointed  a  judge  of 
any  of  the  said  courts. 

g  2.  The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also 
be  the  last  resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences 
now  subsisting,  or  that  hereafter  may  arise  between  two  or 
more  states  concerning  boundary,  jurisdiction,  or  any  other 
cause  whatever ;  which  authority  shall  always  be  exercised 
in  the  manner  following  :  Whenever  the  legislative  or 
executive  authority  or  lawful  agent  of  any  state  in  contro- 
versy with  another,  shall  present  a  petition  to  Congress, 
stating  the  matter  in  question,  and  praying  for  a  hearing, 
notice  thereof  shall  be  given  by  order  of  Congress  to  the 
legislative  or  executive  authority  of  the  other  state  in  con- 
troversy, and  a  day  assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the 
parties  by  their  lawful  agents,  who  shall  then  be  directed 
to  appoint,  by  joint  consent,  commissioners  or  judges  to 
constitute  a  court  for  hearing  and  determining  the  matter 
in  question;  but  if  they  cannot  agree,  Congress  shall 
name  three  persons  out  of  each  of  the  United  States,  and 
from  the  list  of  such  persons  each  party  shall  alternately 
strike  out  one,  the  petitioners  beginning,  until  the  number 
shall  be  reduced  to  thirteen  ;  and  from  that  number  not 
less  than  seven,  nor  more  than  nine  names,  as  Con- 
gress shall  direct,  shall,  in  the  presence  of  Congress, 
be  drawn  out  by  lot ;  and  the  persons  whose  names  shall 
be  so  drawn,  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  com- 


34  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

missioners  or  judges,  to  hear  and  finally  determine 
the  controversy,  so  always  as  a  major  part  of  the  judges, 
who  shall  hear  the  cause,  shall  agree  in  the  determination ; 
and  if  either  party  shall  neglect  to  attend  at  the  day 
appointed,  without  showing  reasons  which  Congress  shall 
judge  sufficient,  or  being  present,  shall  refuse  to  strike, 
the  Congress  shall  proceed  to  nominate  three  persons  out 
of  each  state,  and  the  secretary  of  Congress  shall  strike  in 
behalf  of  such  party  absent  or  refusing;  and  the  judgment 
and  sentence  of  the  court,  to  be  appointed  in  the  manner 
before  prescribed,  shall  be  final  and  conclusive;  and  if  any 
of  the  parties  shall  refuse  to  submit  to  the  authority  of 
such  court,  or  to  appear  or  defend  their  claim  or  cause, 
the  court  shall  nevertheless  proceed  to  pronounce  sentence, 
or  judgment,  which  shall  in  like  manner  be  final  and  de- 
cisive; the  judgment  or  sentence  and  other  proceedings 
being  in  either  case  transmitted  to  Congress,  and  lodged 
among  the  acts  of  Congress,  for  the  security  of  the  parties 
concerned :  provided,  that  every  commissioner,  before  he 
sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an  oath,  to  be  administered  by 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  or  superior  court  of  the 
state  where  the  cause  shall  be  tried,  "well  and  truly  to 
hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question,  according  to 
the  best  of  his  judgment,  without  favor,  affection,  or  hope 
of  reward."  Provided,  also,  that  no  state  shall  be 
deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States. 

g  3.  All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of 
soil  claimed  under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  states, 
whose  jurisdiction,  as  they  may  respect  such  lands,  and 
the  states  which  passed  such  grants  are  adjusted,  the  said 
grants  or  either  of  them  being  at  the  same  time  claimed 
to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such  settlement  of  juris- 
diction, shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  be  finally  determined,  as  near 
as  may  be,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  before  prescribed  for 
deciding  disputes  respecting  territorial  jurisdiction  between 
different  states. 

§  4.  The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall 
also  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  reg- 
ulating the  alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  35 

authority,  or  by, that  of  the  respective  states;  fixing  the 
standard  of  weights  and  measures  throughout  the  United 
States ;  regulating  the  trade,  and  managing  all  affairs  with 
the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  of  the  states;  provided 
that  the  legislative  right  of  any  state,  within  its  own  limits, 
be  not  infringed  or  violated ;  establishing  and  regulating 
post  offices  from  one  state  to  another  throughout  all  the 
United  States,  and  exacting  such  postage  on  the  papers 
passing  through  the  same,  as  may  be  requisite  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  the  said  office ;  appointing  all  officers  of 
the  land  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  except- 
ing regimental  officers  ;  appointing  all  the  officers  of  the 
naval  forces,  and  commissioning  all  officers  whatever  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States;  making  rules  for  the 
government  and  regulation  of  the  said  land  and  naval 
forces,  and  directing  their  operations. 

g  5.  The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall 
have  authority  to  appoint  a  committee  to  sit  in  the  recess 
of  Congress,  to  be  denominated,  "  A  Committee  of  the 
States"  and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  state ; 
and  to  appoint  such  other  committees  and  civil  officers  as 
may  be  necessary  for  managing  the  general  affairs  of  the 
United  States  under  their  direction;  to  appoint  one  of 
their  number  to  preside;  provided  that  no  person  be 
allowed  to  serve  in  the  office  of  president  more  than  one 
year  in  any  term  of  three  years ;  to  ascertain  the  neces- 
sary sums  of  money  to  be  raised  for  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  appropriate  and  apply  the  same  for 
defraying  the  public  expenses ;  to  borrow  money  or  emit 
bills  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  every 
half  year  to  the  respective  states  an  account  of  the  sums 
of  money  so  borrowed  or  emitted ;  to  build  and  equip  a 
navy ;  to  agree  upon  the  number  of  land  forces,  and  to 
make  requisitions  from  each  state  for  its  quota,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  number  of  white  inhabitants  in  such  state,  which 
requisition  shall  be  binding;  and  thereupon  the  legislature 
of  each  state  shall  appoint  the  regimental  officers,  raise 
the  men,  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them,  in  a  soldier-like 
manner,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States ;  and  the 
officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped,  shall 


30  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed 
on  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled ;  but  if  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall,  on  considera- 
tion of  circumstances,  judge  proper  that  any  state  should 
not  raise  men,  or  should  raise  a  smaller  number  than  its 
quota,  and  that  any  other  state  should  raise  a  greater 
number  of  men  than  the  quota  thereof,  such  extra  number 
shall  be  raised,  officered,  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  quota  of  such  state,  unless  the 
legislature  of  such  state  shall  judge  that  such  extra  number 
cannot  be  safely  spared  out  of  the  same,  in  which  case 
they  shall  raise,  officer,  clothe,  arm,  and  equip,  as  many 
of  such  extra  number  as  they  judge  can  be  safely  spared, 
and  the  officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped, 
shall  march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time 
agreed  on  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

g  6.  The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall 
never  engage  in  a  war,  nor  grant  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisal  in  time  of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or 
alliances,  nor  coin  money,  nor  regulate  the  value  thereof, 
nor  ascertain  the  sums  and  expenses  necessary  for  the 
defence  and  welfare  of  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them, 
nor  emit  bills,  nor  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the 
United  States,  nor  appropriate  money,  nor  agree  upon  the 
number  of  vessels  of  war  to  be  built  or  purchased,  or  the 
number  of  land  or  sea  forces  to  be  raised,  nor  appoint  a 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army  or'  navy,  unless  nine 
states  assent  to  the  same :  nor  shall  a  question  on  any 
other  point,  except  for  adjourning  from  day  to  day,  be 
determined,  unless  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled. 

g  7.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have 
power  to  adjourn  to  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  any 
place  within  the  United  States,  so  that  no  period  of  ad- 
journment be  for  a  longer  duration  than  the  space  of  six 
months,  and  shall  publish  the  journal  of  their  proceedings 
monthly,  except  such  parts  thereof  relating  to  treaties, 
alliances,  or  military  operations,  as  in  their  judgment 
require  secrecy;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  delegates 
of  each  state,  on  any  question,  shall  be  entered  on  the 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  37 

journal,  when  it  is  desired  by  any  delegate ;  and  the  del- 
egates of  a  state,  or  any  of  them,  at  his  or  their  request, 
shall  be  furnished  with  a  transcript  of  the  said  journal, 
except  such  parts  as  are  above  excepted,  to  lay  before  the 
legislatures  of  the  several  states. 

Art.  10.  The  committee  of  the  states,  or  any  nine  of 
them,  shall  be  authorized  to  execute,  in  the  recess  of  Con- 
gress, such  of  the  powers  of  Congress  as  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  by  the  consent  of  nine 
states,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  think  expedient  to  vest 
them  with ;  provided  that  no  power  be  delegated  to  the 
said  committee,  for  the  exercise  of  which,  by  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  the  voice  of  nine  states,  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  assembled,  is  requisite. 

Art.  ii.  Canada  acceding  to  this  confederation,  and 
joining  in  the  measures  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
admitted  into  and  entitled  to  all  the  advantages  of  this 
Union  :  But  no  other  colony  shall  be  admitted  into  the 
same,  unless  such  admission  be  agreed  to  by  nine  states. 

Art.  12.  All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys  borrowed, 
and  debts  contracted  by  or  under  the  authority  of  Con- 
gress, before  the  assembling  of  the  United  States,  in  pur- 
suance of  the  present  confederation,  shall  be  deemed  and 
considered  as  a  charge  against  the  United  States,  for  pay- 
ment and  satisfaction  whereof  the  said  United  States  and 
the  public  faith  are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

Art.  13.  Every  state  shall  abide  by  the  determination 
of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  in  all  ques- 
tions which  by  this  confederation  are  submitted  to  them. 
And  the  articles  of  this  confederation  shall  be  inviolably 
observed  by  every  state,  and  the  union  shall  be  perpetual ; 
nor  shall  any  alteration  at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in 
any  of  them;  unless  such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in  a 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  be  afterward  con- 
firmed by  the  legislature  of  every  state. 

And  whereas  it  hath  pleased  the  great  Governor  of  the 
world  to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  legislatures  we  respec- 
tively represent  in  Congress  to  approve  of,  and  to  author- 
ize us  to  ratify  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation  and 
Perpetual  Union,  Know  ye,  that  we,  the  undersigned  del- 


38  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

egates,  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  authority  to  us  given 
for  that  purpose,  do  by  these  presents,  in  the  name  and  in 
behalf  of  our  respective  constituents,  fully  and  entirely 
ratify  and  confirm  each  and  every  of  the  said  Articles  of 
Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union,  and  all  and  singular 
the  matters  and  things  therein  contained.  And  we  do 
further  solemnly  plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our 
respective  constituents,  that  they  shall  abide  by  the 
determinations  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, in  all  questions  which  by  the  said  confederation  are 
submitted  to  them;  and  that  the  articles  thereof  shall  be 
inviolably  observed  by  the  states  we  respectively  repre- 
sent, and  that  the  union  shall  be  perpetual.  In  witness 
whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  in  Congress. 

Done  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
9th  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1778,  and  in  the 
third  year  of  the  Independence  of  America. 

New  Hampshire.  New  York. 

JOSIAH  BARTLETT,  JAMES  DUANE, 

JOHN  WENTWORTH,  TUN.     FRA.  LEWIS, 


Massachusetts  Bay. 

WILLIAM  UUEK, 

Gouv.  MORRIS. 

JOHN  HANCOCK, 
SAMUEL  ADAMS, 
ELBRIDGE  GERRY, 

New  Jersey. 

FRANCIS  DANA, 

JNO.  WITHER  SPOON, 

JAMES  LOVEL. 

NATH.  SCUDDER. 

SAMUEL  HOLTEN. 

Rhode  Island,  &*c. 

Pennsylvania. 

\VILLIAM  ELLERY, 
HENRY  MARCHANT, 
JOHN  COLLINS. 

ROBERT  MORRIS, 
DANIEL  ROBERDEAU, 
JONA  BAYARD  SMITH, 
WILLIAM  CLINGAN, 

Connecticut. 

JOSEPH  REED. 

ROGER  SHERMAN, 

SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON, 

Delaware. 

OLIVER  WOLCOTT, 

THOMAS  M'KEAN, 

TITUS  HOSMER, 

JOHN  DICKINSON, 

ANDREW  ADAMS. 

NICHOLAS  VAN  DYKE. 

AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  39 


Maryland. 

CONS.  HARNETT, 

JOHN  HANSON, 

JNO.  WILLIAMS. 

DANIEL  CARROLL. 

South  Carolina. 

HENRY  LAURENS, 

Virginia. 
RICHARD  HENRY  LEE, 

WM.  HENRY  DRAYTON, 
JNO.  MATTHEWS, 

JOHN  BANISTER, 
THOMAS  ADAMS, 
JNO.  HARVIE, 

RICHARD  HUTSON, 
THOS.  HEYWARD,  JUN. 

FRANCIS  LIGHTFOOT  LEE. 

Georgia. 

North  Carolina. 

JNO.  WALTON, 
EDWARD  TELFAIR, 

JOHN  PENN, 

EDWARD  LANGWORTHY. 

WASHINGTON  RESIGNS  His  COMMISSION. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  follow  the 
American  Revolution  throughout  its  ever  memor- 
able course  of  struggle,  of  triumph,  of  midnight 
darkness  and  glorious  sunburst.  With  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  war  we  come  to  another  declaration 
which  should  be  kept  ever  present  in  the  minds  of 
Americans — Washington's  speech  on  resigning  his 
commission.  Washington  took  leave  of  his  officers 
and  army  at  New  York,  and  repaired  to  Annapolis, 
Md.,  where  Congress  was  then  in  session.  On  the 
2oth  of  December,  1783,  he  transmitted  a  letter  to 
that  body,  apprising  them  of  his  arrival,  with  the 
intention  of  resigning  his  commission,  and  desiring 
to  know  whether  it  would  be  most  agreeable  to 
receive  it  in  writing  or  at  an  audience.  It  was  im- 
mediately resolved  that  a  public  entertainment  be 
given  him  on  the  22d,  and  that  he  be  admitted  to 
an  audience  on  the  23d,  at  twelve  o'clock.  Accord- 
ingly he  attended  at  that  time,  and,  being  seated, 
the  President  informed  him  that  Congress  was 
prepared  to  receive  his  communications.  Where- 
upon he  arose,  and  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT  :  The  great  events  on  which  my 
resignation  depended  having  at  length  taken  place,  I  have 


40  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

now  the  honor  of  offering  my  sincere  congratulations  to 
Congress,  and  of  presenting  myself  before  them,  to  sur- 
render into  their  hands  the  trust  committed  to  me,  and  to 
claim  the  indulgence  of  retiring  from  the  service  of  my 
country. 

"  Happy  in  the  confirmation  of  our  independence  and 
sovereignty,  and  pleased  with  the  opportunity  afforded  the 
United  States  of  becoming  a  respectable  nation,  I  resign 
with  satisfaction  the  appointment  I  accepted  with  diffi- 
dence: a  diffidence  in  my  abilities  to  accomplish  so 
arduous  a  task;  which  however  was  superseded  by  a 
confidence  in  the  rectitude  of  our  cause,  the  support  of 
the  supreme  power  of  the  Union,  and  the  patronage  of 
Heaven. 

"  The  successful  termination  of  the  war  has  verified  the 
most  sanguine  expectations;  and  my  gratitude  for  the 
interposition  of  Providence,  and  the  assistance  I  have 
received  from  my  countrymen,  increases  with  every  review 
of  the  momentous  contest. 

"  While  I  repeat  my  obligations  to  the  army  in  general, 
I  should  do  injustice  to  my  own  feelings  not  to  acknowl- 
edge, in  this  place,  the  peculiar  services  and  distinguished 
merits  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  been  attached  to  my 
person  during  the  war.  It  was  impossible  that  the  choice 
of  confidential  officers  to  compose  my  family  should  have 
been  more  fortunate.  Permit  me,  sir,  to  recommend,  in 
particular,  those  who  have  continued  in  the  service  to  the 
present  moment,  as  worthy  of  the  favorable  notice  and 
patronage  of  Congress. 

"  I  consider  it  an  indispensable  duty  to  close  this  last 
act  of  my  official  life  by  commending  the  interests  of  our 
dearest  country  to  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  and 
those  who  have  the  superintendence  of  them  to  His  holy 
keeping. 

'*  Having  now  finished  the  work  assigned  me,  I  retire 
from  the  great  theatre  of  action,  and  bidding  an  affectionate 
farewell  to  this  august  body,  under  whose  orders  I  have  so 
loruj  acted,  I  here  offer  my  commission,  and  take  my  leave 
of  all  the  employments  of  public  life." 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  41 

DEMAND  FOR  A  CONSTITUTION. 

It  became  apparent  in  a  very  few  years  that  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  were  riot  sufficient  to 
secure  the  establishment  of  a  powerful  and  united 
government  that  could  command  order  at  home  and 
respect  abroad.  The  bond  of  union  rested  loosely 
on  the  several  states,  and  ambitious  men  did  not 
hesitate  to  imperil  that  bond,  frail  as  it  was,  in  the 
pursuit  of  their  selfish  aims.  Great  Britain  affected 
to  regard  the  discordant  Americans  with  contempt, 
and  it  is  said  that  the  English  king  even  began  to 
entertain  a  hope  that  the  time  would  come  when 
Americans,  weary  of  their  experiment,  would  again 
seek  shelter  under  the  British  flag.  Sagacious  men 
everywhere  throughout  the  country  saw  the  neces- 
sity for  a  Constitution  that  would  create  a  nation  in 
fact  as  well  as  in  name.  Chief  Justice  Story  said 
of  the  government  under  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration :  "There  was  an  utter  want  of  all  coercive 
authority  to  carry  into  effect  its  own  constitutional 
measures.  This  of  itself  was  sufficient  to  destroy 
its  whole  efficiency  as  a  superintendent  government, 
if  that  may  be  called  a  government  which  posseted 
no  one  solid  attribute  of  power.  In  truth  Congrt^s 
possessed  only  the  power  of  recommendation. 
Congress  had  no  power  to  exact  obedience,  or 
punish  disobedience  of  its  ordinances  ;  they  could 
neither  impose  fines,  nor  direct  imprisonments,  nor 
divest  privileges,  nor  declare  forfeitures,  nor  sus- 
pend refractory  officers.  There  was  no  power  to 
exercise  force." 

On  the  2ist  of  February,  1787,  Congress  adopted 
the  following  resolution  : 

"  Whereas  there  is  provision  in  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union  for  making 
alterations  therein  by  the  assent  of  a  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  of  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  states ;  and,  whereas,  experience  hath 
evinced  that  there  are  defects  in  the  present  Con- 


42  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

federation,  as  a  mean  to  remedy  which  several  of 
the  states,  and  particularly  the  state  of  New  York, 
by  express  instructions  to  their  delegates  in  Con- 
gress, have  suggested  a  Convention  for  the  purposes 
expressed  in  the  following  resolution,  and  such 
Convention  appearing  to  be  the  most  probable 
mean  of  establishing  in  these  states  a  firm  national 
government — 

"Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  Congress  it  is 
expedient  that  on  the  second  Monday  in  May  next, 
a  convention  of  delegates  who  shall  have  been 
appointed  by  the  several  states,  be  held  at  Phila- 
delphia, for  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of  revising 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  reporting  to 
Congress  and  the  several  legislatures  such  altera- 
tions and  provisions  therein,  as  shall,  when  agreed 
to  in  Congress  and  confirmed  by  the  states,  render 
the  Federal  Constitution  adequate  to  the  exigencies 
of  government  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union." 

The  day  appointed  by  this  resolution  was  the 
second  Monday  in  May ;  but  the  25th  of  that 
month  was  the  first  day  upon  which  a  sufficient 
number  of  members  appeared  to  constitute  a  repre- 
sentation of  a  majority  of  the  states.  They  then 
elected  George  Washington  their  President,  and 
proceeded  to  business.  On  the  iyth  of  September, 
1787,  the  Constitution  was  adopted  by  the  Conven- 
tion, and  subsequently  ratified  by  Conventions  of 
the  several  states,  as  follows  : 

By  Convention  of  Delaware,    .    .    .    7th  December,  1787. 

"  "  Pennsylvania,  .   I2th  December,  1787. 

"  "  New  Jersey,  .    .  i8lh  December,  1787. 

"  "          Georgia, 2d  January,  1788. 

"  "  Connecticut,   .    .    .  gth  January,  1788. 

"  "  Massachusetts,  .    .  6th  February,  1788. 

"  "  Maryland,    ....    2Sth  April,  17^8. 

•'  "  South  Carolina,  .    .    .   23<i  May,  1788. 

"  "  New  Hampshire,  .    .    2ist  June,  1788. 

4«  "          Virginia, 26lh  June,  1788. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  43 

By  Convention  of  New  York,    ....    26th  July,  1788. 
"  "          North  Carolina,    2 1st  November,  1789. 

"  "          Rhode  Island,  .    .    .   agth  May,  1790. 


ring 

States,    with  the   amendments,  and  the   date  of 
their  adoption  : 

THE  CONSTITUTION 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.* 

[PREAMBLE.] 

WE,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a 
more  perfect  Union,  establish  Justice,  insure  domestic 
Tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote 
the  general  Welfare,  and  secure  the  Blessings  of  Lib- 
erty to  ourselves  and  our  Posterity,  do  ordain  and 
establish  this  CONSTITUTION  for  the  United  States  of 
America. 

ARTICLE  I. 

[THE  LEGISLATIVE  DEPARTMENT.] 

SECTION  I.  All  legislative  Powers  herein  granted  shall 
be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall 
consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

SEC.  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  com- 
posed of  Members  chosen  every  second  Year  by  the 
People  of  the  several  States,  and  the  Electors  in  each 
State  shall  have  the  Qualifications  requisite  for  Electors 
of  the  most  numerous  Branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

No  Person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  Age  of  twenty-five  Years,  and  been  seven 
Years  a  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not, 
when  elected,  bean  Inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 


*  This  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  original  in  punctuation,  spelling, 
capital,  etc  , — in  all  respects  except  the  words  and  figures  which 
are  enclosed  in  brackets,  and  the  reference  marks. 


44  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Representatives  and  direct  Taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within 
this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  Numbers,  which 
shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  Number  of 
free  Persons,  including  those  bound  to  Service  for  a  Term 
of  Years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of 
all  other  Persons.*  The  actual  Enumeration  shall  be 
made  within  three  Years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subse- 
quent Term  of  ten  Years,  in  such  Manner  as  they  shall  by 
Law  direct.  The  Number  of  Representatives  shall  not 
exceed  one  for  every  thirty  Thousand,  but  each  State  shall 
have  at  Least  one  Representative  ;  and  until  such  enumera- 
tion shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be 
entitled  to  chuse  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode-Island 
and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New 
York  six,  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware 
one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South 
Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  Representation  from  any 
State,  the  Executive  Authority  thereof  shall  issue  Writs 
of  Election  to  fill  such  Vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  chuse  their  Speaker 
and  other  officers ;  f  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of 
Impeachment. 

SEC.  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  com- 
posed  ot  two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the 
Legislature  thereof,  for  six  Years;  and  each  Senator  shall 
have  one  Vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  Conse- 
quence of  the  first  Election,  they  shall  be  divided  as 
equally  as  may  be  into  three  Classes.  The  Seats  of  the 
Senators  of  the  first  Class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  Expira- 
tion of  the  second  Year,  of  the  second  Class  at  the 
Expiration  of  the  fourth  Year,  and  of  the  third  class  at 
the  Expiration  of  the  sixth  Year,  so  that  one-third  may  be 

*  "  Other  persons  "  refers  to  slaves.  See  Amendments,  Art. 
XIV  ,  Sections  i  and  2. 

t  The  principal  of  these  are  the  clerk,  sergeant-at-arms;  door- 
keeper, and  postmaster. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  45 

chosen  every  second  year ;  and  if  Vacancies  nappen  by 
Resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the  Recess  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  any  State,  the  Executive  thereof  may  make 
temporary  Appointments  until  the  next  Meeting  of  the 
Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  Vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  Age  of  thirty  Years,  and  been  nine  Years 
a  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when 
elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that  Slate  for  which  he  shall 
be  chosen. 

The  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  Vote,  unless  they 
be  equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  chuse  their  other  Officers,  and  also  a 
President,  pro  tempore,  in  the  Absence  of  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent, or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  Office  of  President  of 
the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  Power  to  try  all 
Impeachments.  When  sitting  for  that  Purpose,  they  shall 
be  on  Oath  or  Affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the 
United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside : 
And  no  Person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  Concurrence 
of  two-thirds  of  the  Members  present. 

Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeachment  shall  not  extend 
further  than  to  removal  from  Office,  and  Disqualification 
to  hold  and  enjoy  any  Office  of  Honor,  Trust  or  Profit 
under  the  United  States :  but  the  Party  convicted  shall 
nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject  to  Indictment,  Trial, 
Judgment  and  Punishment,  according  to  Law. 

SEC.  4.  The  Times,  Places  and  Manner  of  holding 
Elections  for  Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  pre- 
scribed in  each  State  by  the  Legislature  thereof;  but  the 
Congress  may  at  any  time  by  Law  make  or  alter  such 
Regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  chusing  Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every 
Year,  and  such  Meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in 
December,  unless  they  shall  by  Law  appoint  a  different 
Day. 

SEC.  5.  Each  House  shall  be  the  Judge  of  the  Elec- 
tions, Returns  and  Qualifications  of  its  own  Members,  and 


46  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

a  Majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  Quorum  to  do  Busi- 
ness ;  but  a  smaller  Number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day, 
and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  Attendance  of  absent 
Members,  in  such  Manner,  and  under  such  Penalties  as 
each  House  may  provide. 

Each  House  may  determine  the  Rules  of  its  Proceedings, 
punish  its  Members  for  disorderly  Behaviour,  and,  with 
the  Concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  Member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a  Journal  of  its  Proceedings, 
and  from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such 
Parts  as  may  in  their  Judgment  require  Secrecy ;  and  the 
Yeas  and  Nays  of  the  Members  of  either  House  on  any" 
question  shall,  at  the  Desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  Present, 
be  entered  on  the  Journal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  Session  of  Congress,  shall, 
without  the  Consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  lor  more  than 
three  days,  nor  to  any  other  Place  than  that  in  which  the 
two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

SEC.  6.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  re- 
ceive a  Compensation*  for  their  Services,  to  be  ascer- 
tained by  Law,  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States.  They  shall  in  all  Cases,  except  Treason, 
Felony  and  Breach  of  the  Peace,  be  privileged  from 
Arrest  during  their  Attendance  at  the  Session  of  their  re- 
spective Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the 
same ;  and  for  any  Speech  or  Debate  in  either  House, 
they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  Place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  Time 
for  which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  Office 
under  the  Authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall 
have  been  created,  or  the  Emoluments  whereof  shall 
have  been  increased  during  such  time ;  and  no  Person 
holding  any  Office  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a 
Member  of  either  House  during  his  Continuance  in 
Office. 

SEC.  7.  All  bills  for  raising  Revenue  shall  originate  in 


*The  present  compensation  is  $5 ,000  a  year,  and  an  allowance 
of  20  cents  for  every  mile  of  travel  to  and  from  the  national  capi- 
tal. 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  47 

the  House  of  Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  pro- 
pose or  concur  with  Amendments  as  on  other  Bills. 

Every  Bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a 
Law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States ; 
If  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return 
it,  with  his  Objections  to  the  House  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the  Objections  at  large  on 
their  Journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such 
Reconsideration  two-thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to 
pass  the  Bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  Objections 
to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  recon- 
sidered, and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  House  it 
shall  become  a  Law.  But  in  all  such  Cases  the  Votes  of 
Both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  Yeas  and  Nays,  and 
the  Names  of  the  Persons  voting  for  and  against  the  Bill 
shall  be  entered  on  the  Journal  of  each  House  respec- 
tively. If  any  Bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President 
within  ten  Days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  the  Same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like 
Manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by 
their  Adjournment  prevent  its  Return,  in  which  Case  it 
shall  not  be  a  Law. 

Every  Order,  Resolution,  or  Vote  to  which  the  Con- 
currence of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  Adjournment ) 
shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  : 
and  before  the  same  shall  take  Effect,  shall  be  approved 
by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed 
by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives, according  to  the  Rules  and  Limitations  prescribed 
in  the  Case  of  a  Bill. 

SEC.  8.  Tiie  Congress  shall  have  Power. 

To  lay  and  collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises, 
to  pay  the  Debts  and  provide  for  the  common  Defence 
and  general  Welfare  of  the  United  States ;  but  all  Du- 
ties, Imposts  and  Excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States  ; 

To  borrow  Money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

To  regulate  Commerce  with  foreign  Nations,  and  among 
the  several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  Tribes; 


48  HAND  COOK  TOR 

To  establish  an  uniform  Rule  of  Naturalization,*  and 
uniform  Laws  on  the  subject  of  Bankruptcies  throughout 
the  United  States ; 

To  coin  Money,  regulate  the  Value  thereof,  and  of 
foreign  Coin,  and  fix  the  Standard  of  Weights  and 
Measures ; 

To  provide  for  the  Punishment  of  counterfeiting  the 
Securities  and  current  Coin  of  the  United  States ; 

To  establish  Post  Offices  and  post  Roads ; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  Science  and  useful  Arts,  by 
securing  for  limited  Times  to  Authors  and  Inventors  the 
exclusive  Rightf  to  their  respective  Writings  and  Dis- 
coveries ; 

To  constitute  Tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme  Court ; 

To  define  and  punish  Piracies  and  Felonies  committed 
on  the  high  Seas,  and  Offences  against  the  Law  of  Na- 
tions ; 

To  declare  War,  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal, 
and  make  Rules  concerning  Captures  on  Land  and 
Water; 

To  raise  and  support  Armies,  but  no  Appropriation  of 
Money  to  that  Use  shall  be  for  a  longer  Term  than  two 
Years ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  Navy ; 

To  make  Rules  for  the  Government  and  Regulation  of 
the  land  and  naval  Forces  ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  Militia  to  execute  the 
Laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  Insurrections  and  repel  In- 
vasions ; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining,  the 
Militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be 
employed  in  the  Service  of  the  United  States,  reserving 
to  the  States  respectively,  the  Appointment  of  the  Officers, 


*  The  Naturalization  laws  require  a  foreigner  to  be  in  the  coun- 
try five  years  before  he  is  entitled  to  citizenship. 

t  An  Author  obtains  a  copyright  by  application  to  the  Librarian 
of  Congress,  and  it  is  secured  for  twenty-eight  years. 

An  Inventor  secures  a  patent  from  the  Patent  Office,  at  Wash- 
ington, fora  certain  number  of  years,  prescribed  by  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  49 

and  the  Authority  of  training  the  Militia  according  to  the 
Discipline  prescribed  by  Congress ; 

To  exercise  exclusive  Legislation  in  all  Cases  whatso- 
ever, over  such  District  (not  exceeding  ten  Miles  square) 
as  may,  by  Cession  of  particular  States,  and  the  Accept- 
ance of  Congress,  become  the  Seat  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  Authority  over 
all  places  purchased  by  the  Consent  of  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  in  which  the  Same  shall  be,  for  the  Erection  of 
Forts,  Magazines,  Arsenals,  Dock- Yards,  and  other  need- 
ful Buildings; — And 

To  make  all  Laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper 
for  carrying  into  Execution  the  foregoing  Powers,  and  all 
other  Powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  Department  or 
Officer  thereof. 

SEC.  9.  The  Migration  or  Importation  of  such  Persons 
as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to 
admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the.  Congress  prior  to 
the  Year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a 
Tax  or  Duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  Importation,  not 
exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  Person. 

The  Privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  shall  not 
be  suspended,  unless  when  in  Cases  of  Rebellion  or  Inva- 
sion the  public  Safety  may  require  it. 

No  Bill  of  Attainder  or  ex  post  facto  Law  shall  be 
passed. 

No  Capitation,  or  other  direct  Tax  shall  be  laid,  unless 
in  Proportion  to  the  Census  or  Enumeration  herein  before 
directed  to  be  taken. 

No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  laid  on  Articles  exported 
from  any  State. 

No  Preference  shall  be  given  by  any  Regulation  of 
Commerce  or  Revenue  to  the  Poris  of  one  State  over 
those  of  another ;  nor  shall  Vessels  bound  to,  or  from, 
one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  Duties  in  an- 
other. 

No  Money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in 
Consequence  of  Appropriations  made  by  Law;  and  a 
regular  Statement  and  Account  of  the  Receipts  and 


50  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Expenditures  of  all  public  Money  shall  be  published  from 
time  to  time. 

No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States  :  And  no  Person  holding  any  Office  of  Profit  6r 
Trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Con- 
gress, accept  of  any  present,  Emolument,  Office,  or  Title, 
of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  King,  Prince,  or  foreign 
State. 

SEC.  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  Treaty,  Alliance, 
or  Confederation;  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal; 
coin  Money ;  emit  Bills  of  Credit ;  make  any  Thing  but 
gold  and  silver  Coin  a  Tender  in  Payment  of  Debts ;  pass 
any  Bill  of  Attainder,  ex  post  facto  Law,  or  Law  impair- 
ing the  Obligation  of  Contracts,  or  grant  any  Title  of  No- 
bility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress, 
lay  any  Imposts  or  Duties  on  Imports  or  Exports,  except 
what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  in- 
spection Laws  :  and  the  net  Produce  of  all  Duties  and 
Imposts  laid  by  any  State  on  Imports  or  Exports,  shall  be 
for  the  Use  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States ;  and  all 
such  Laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  Revision  and  Controul 
of  the  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  Congress,  lay 
any  Duty  of  Tonnage,  keep  Troops,  or  Ships  of  Wur  in 
time  of  Peace,  enter  into  any  Agreement  or  Compact  with 
another  State,  or  with  a  foreign  Power,  or  engage  in  War, 
unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  Danger  as 
will  not  admit  of  Delay. 

ARTICLE  II. 
[THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT.] 

SEC.  i.  The  executive  Power  shall  be  vested  in  a 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall 
hold  his  Office  during  the  Term  of  four  Years,  and, 
together  with  the  Vice  President,  chosen  for  the  same 
Term,  be  elected,  as  follows: 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  Manner  as  the  Legis- 
lature thereof  may  direct,  a  Number  of  Electors,  equal  to 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  51 

the  whole  Number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to 
which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress :  but  no 
Senator  or  Representative,  or  Person  holding  an  Office  of 
Trust  or  Profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed 
an  Elector. 

*  The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States, 
and  vote  by  Ballot  for  two  Persons,  of  whom  one  at  least 
shall  not  be  an  Inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  them- 
selves And  they  shall  make  a  List  of  all  the  Persons 
voted  for,  and  of  the  Number  of  Votes  for  each ;  which 
List  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the 
Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to 
the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate 
shall,  in  the  Presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, open  all  the  Certificates,  and  the  Votes  shall 
then  be  counted.  The  Person  having  the  greatest  Num- 
ber of  Votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  Number  be  a 
Majority  of  the  whole  Number  of  Electors  appointed;  and 
if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  Majority  and 
have  an  equal  Number  of  Votes,  then  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives shall  immediately  chuse  by  Ballot  one  of  them 
for  President;  and  if  no  Person  have  a  Majority,  then 
from  the  five  highest  on  the  List  the  said  House  shall  in 
like  Manner  chuse  the  President.  But  in  chusing  the 
President,  the  Votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  Repre- 
sentation from  each  State  having  one  Vote  :  a  Quorum  for 
this  Purpose  shall  consist  of  a  Member  or  Members  from 
two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  Majority  of  all  the  States 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  Choice.  In  every  Case,  after  the 
Choice  of  the  President,  the  Person  having  the  greatest 
Number  of  Votes  of  the  Electors  shall  be  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent. But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have 
equal  Votes,  the  Senate  shall  chuse  from  them  by  Ballot 
the  Vice  President. 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  Time  of  chusing  the 
Electors,  and  the  Day  on  which  they  shall  give  their 
Votes;  which  Day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the 
United  States. 


*  This  clause  has  been  superseded  by  the  i2th  Amendment. 


52  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

No  Person  except  a  natural  born  Citizen,  or  a  Citizen 
of  the  United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  Adoption  of  this 
Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  Office  of  President ; 
neither  shall  any  Person  be  eligible  to  that  Office  who 
shall  not  have  attained  to  the  Age  of  thirty-five  Years, 
and  been  fourteen  Years  a  Resident  within  the  United 
States. 

In  Case  of  the  Removal  of  the  President  from  Office, 
or  of  his  Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability  to  discharge  the 
Powers  and  Duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall 
devolve  on  the  Vice  President,  and  the  Congress  may  by 
Law  provide  for  the  Case  of  Removal,  Death,  Resigna- 
tion, or  Inability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice  President, 
declaring  what  Officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and 
such  Officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  Disability  be 
removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for  his 
Services,  a  Compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased 
nor  diminished  during  the  Period  for  which  he  shall  have 
been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  Period 
any  other  Emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of 
them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  Execution  of  his  Office,  he  shall 
take  the  following  Oath  or  Affirmation : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  exe- 
4t  cute  the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will 
"  to  the  best  of  my  Ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend 
"the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

SEC.  2.  The  President  shall  be  Commander  in  Chief  of 
the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Mili- 
tia of  the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  Service 
of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in 
writing,  of  the  principal  Officer  in  each  of  the  executive 
Departments,  upon  any  Subject  relating  to  the  Duties  of 
their  respective  Offices,  and  he  shall  have  Power  to  grant 
Reprieves  and  Pardons  for  Offences  against  the  United 
States,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment. 

He  shall  have  Power,  by  and  with  the  Advice  and 
Consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make  Treaties,  provided  two- 
thirds  of  the  Senators  present  concur ;  and  he  shall  nomi- 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  53 

nate,  and  by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the 
Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers 
and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the  supreme  Court,  and  all  other 
Officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  Appointments  are  not 
herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  estab- 
lished by  Law :  but  the  Congress  may  by  Law  vest  the 
Appointment  of  such  inferior  Officers,  as  they  think 
proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or  in 
the  Heads  of  Departments. 

The  President  shall  have  Power  to  fill  up  all  Vacancies 
that  may  happen  during  the  Recess  of  the  Senate,  by 
granting  Commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  End  of 
their  next  Session. 

SEC.  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Con- 
gress Information  of  the  State  of  the  Union,  and  recom- 
mend to  their  Consideration  such  Measures  as  he  shall 
judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary 
Occasions,  convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in 
Case  of  Disagreement  between  them,  with  Respect  to  the 
time  of  Adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  Time 
as  he  shall  think  proper;  he  shall  receive  Ambassadors 
and  other  public  Ministers ;  he  shall  take  Care  that  the 
Laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  Commission  all  the 
officers  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  4.  The  President,  Vice  President  and  all  civil 
Officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from 
Office  on  Impeachment  for,  and  Conviction  of,  Treason, 
Bribery,  or  other  high  Crimes  and  Misdemeanors. 


ARTICLE  III. 
[THE  JUDICIAL  DEPARTMENT.]  . 

SECTION  I.  The  Judicial  Power  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  vested  in  one  supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior 
Courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and 
establish.  The  Judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior 
Courts,  shall  hold  their  Offices  during  good  behaviour,  and 
shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  Services,  a 


54  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Compensation  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their 
continuance  in  Office. 

SEC.  2.  The  judicial  Power  shall  extend  to  all  Cases,  in 
Law  and  Equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  Laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall 
be  made,  under  their  Authority; — to  all  Cases  affecting 
Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and  Consuls  ; — to  all 
Cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  Jurisdiction ; — to  Contro- 
versies to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  Party ; — to 
Controversies  between  two  or  more  States  ; — between  a 
State  and  Citizens  of  another  State ; — between  Citizens  of 
different  States, — between  Citizens  of  the  same  State 
claiming  Lands  under  Grants  of  different  States,  and 
between  a  State,  or  the  Citizens  thereof  and  foreign  States, 
Citizens  or  Subjects. 

In  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Minis- 
ters and  Consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be 
Partv,  the  supreme  Court  shall  have  original  Jurisdiction. 
In  all  the  other  Cases  before  mentioned,  the  supreme 
Court  shall  have  appellate  Jurisdiction,  both  as  to  Law  and 
Fact,  with  such  Exceptions,  and  under  such  Regulations 
as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeach- 
ment, shall  be  by  Jury ;  and  such  Trial  shall  be  held  in 
the  State  where  the  said  Crimes  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the 
Trial  shall  be  at  such  Place  or  Places  as  the  Congress  may 
by  Law  have  directed. 

SEC.  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall  consist 
only  in  levying  War  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
Enemies,  giving  them  Aid  and  Comfort.  No  Person  shall 
be  convicted  of  Treason  unless  on  the  Testimony  of  two 
Witnesses  to  the  same  overt  Act,  or  on  Confession  in  open 
Court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  declare  the  Punish- 
ment of  Treason,  but  no  Attainder  of  Treason  shall  work 
Corruption  of  Blood,  or  Forfeiture  except  during  the  Life 
of  the  Person  attainted. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  55 

ARTICLE  IV. 
[MISCELLANEOUS.] 

SECTION  I.  Full  Faith  and  Credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
State  to  the  public  Acts,  Records,  and  judicial  Proceedings 
of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress  may  by  general 
Laws  prescribe  the  Manner  in  which  such  Acts,  Records 
and  Proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  Effect  thereof. 

SEC.  2.  The  Citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to 
all  Privileges  and  Immunities  of  Citizens  in  the  several 
States. 

A  Person  charged  in  any  State  with  Treason,  Felony,  or 
other  Crime,  who  shall  flee  from  Justice,  and  be  found  in 
another  State,  shall  on  Demand  of  the  executive  Authority 
of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be 
removed  to  the  State  having  Jurisdiction  of  the  Crime. 

No  Person  held  to  Service  or  Labour  in  one  State, 
under  the  Laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in 
Consequence  of  any  Law  or  Regulation  therein,  be  dis- 
charged from  such  Service  or  Labour,  but  shall  be  deliv- 
ered up  on  Claim  of  the  Party  to  whom  such  Service  or 
Labour  may  be  due. 

SEC.  3.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress 
into  this  Union ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or 
erected  within  the  Jurisdiction  of  any  other  State ;  nor 
any  State  be  formed  by  the  Junction  of  two  or  more 
States,  or  Parts  of  States,  without  the  Consent  of  the 
Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of  the 
Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make 
all  needful  Rules  and  Regulations  respecting  the  Terri- 
tory or  other  Property  belonging  to  the  United  States  ; 
and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as 
to  Prejudice  any  Claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any 
particular  State. 

SEC.  4.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every 
State  in  this  Union  a  Republican  Form  of  Government, 
md  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  Invasion,  and  on 
.Application  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive 


56  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

(when  the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened)  against  do- 
mestic  Violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  Houses 
shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  Amendments  to 
this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  Application  of  the  Legisla- 
tures of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  Con- 
vention for  proposing  Amendments,  which,  in  either  Case, 
shall  be  valid  to  all  Intents  and  Purposes,  as  Part  of  this 
Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  Conventions  in  three- 
fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  Mode  of  Ratifica- 
tion may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress ;  Provided  that  no 
Amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  Year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  Manner 
affect  the  first  and  fourth  Clauses  in  the  Ninth  Section  of 
the  first  Article ;  and  that  no  State,  without  its  Consent, 
shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  Suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

All  Debts  contracted  and  Engagements  entered  into, 
before  the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid 
against  the  United  States  under  this  Constitution,  as 
under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  Laws  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  made  in  Pursuance  thereof;  and  all 
treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States  shall  be  the  Supreme  Law  of  the 
Land;  and  the  Judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound 
thereby,  any  Thing  in  the  Constitution  or  Laws  of  any 
State  to  the  Contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned, 
and  the  Members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and 
all  executive  and  judicial  Officers,  both  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  Oath 
or  Affirmation,  to  support  this  Constitution ;  but  no  reli- 
gious Test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any 
Office  or  public  Trust  under  the  United  States. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS. 
ARTICLE  VII. 


57 


The  Ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  Nine  States, 
shall  be  sufficient  for  the  Establishment  of  this  Constitu- 
tion between  the  Slates  so  ratifying  the  same. 

DONE  in  Convention  by  the  Unanimous  Consent  of  the 
States  present  the  Seventeenth  Day  of  September  in 
the  Year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  Eighty-seven  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  the  Twelfth.  IN  WITNESS 
whereof  We  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  Names, 

G°  WASHINGTON— 
Presitft  and  deputy  from  Virginia. 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

DELAWARE. 

John  Langdon 
Nicholas  Gilman 

Geor  Read 
John  Dickinson 

NEW  YORK. 
Alexander  Hamilton 

Jaco  Broom 
Gunning  Bedford  Jun 
Richard  Bassett 

NEW  JERSEY. 

Wil  Livingston 

MARYLAND. 

Wm  Paterson 

James  M'  Henry 

David  Bread  ey 
Jona  Dayton 

Danl  Carrol 
Dan  of  St  Thos  Jenifer 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

VIRGINIA. 

B  Franklin 
Robt  Morris 

John  Blair 

Tho  Fitzsimons 

CONNECTICUT. 

James  Wilson 
Thomas  Mifflin 
Geo  Clymer 
Jared  Ingersoll 

Wm  Saml  Johnson 
Roger  Sherman 
James  Madison  Jr 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Nathaniel  Gorham 

Wm  Blount 

Rufus  King 

Hu  Williamson 

Gouv  Morris 

Richard  Dobbs  Spaight 

58  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

SOUTH  CAROLINA.  GEORGIA. 

JRutledge  William  Few 

Charles  Pmckney  Ab    BaiHwin 

Charles  Cotesworth  Pmckney      Abr 
Pierce  Butler 

Attest :  WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


ARTICLES 

IN   ADDITION   TO,  AND   AMENDMENT   OF, 

THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
OF  AMERICA. 

Proposed  by  Congress^  and  ratified  by  the   Legislatures 

of  the  Several  States,  pursuant  to  the  fifth  article 

of  the  original  Constitution. 

.  ARTICLE  I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish- 
ment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof; 
or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press ;  or 
the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to 
petition  the  Government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  II. 

A  well  regulated  Militia,  being  necessary  to  the  secur- 
ity of  a  free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and 
bear  Arms,  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III. 

No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any 
house,  without  the  consent  of  the  Owner,  nor  in  time  of 
war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  59 

ARTICLE  IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches 
and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  Warrants  shall 
issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or 
affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be 
searched,  and  the  person  or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or 
otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or 
indictment  of  a  Grand  Jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the 
land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  Militia,  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  War  or  public  danger  ;  nor  shall  any 
person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in 
jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any 
Criminal  Case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public 
use,  without  just  compensation. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy 
the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial 
jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall 
have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the 
nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation;  to  be  confronted  with 
the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  Compulsory  process 
for  obtaining  Witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the 
Assistance  of  Counsel  for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

In  Suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  contro- 
versy shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by 
jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  sha'l 
be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  Court  of  the  Uniica 
States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  Jaw. 


60  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  in- 
flicted. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights, 
shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained 
by  the  people. 

ARTICLE  X.* 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the 
Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are 
reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  Xl.f 

The  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be 
construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  com- 
menced or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States  by 
Citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  Citizens  or  Subjects  of 
any  Foreign  State. 

ARTICLE  XII.J 

The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and 
vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice  President,  one  of 
whom  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same 
state  with  themselves ;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the 
person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the 
person  voted  for  as  Vice  President,  and  they  shall  make 
distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of 
all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice  President,  and  of  the  num- 
ber of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and 
certify,  and  transfer  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government 
of  the  United  States  directed  to  the  President  of  the 


*  The  first  ten  amendments  were  proposed  at  the  first  session  of 
the  first  Congress  (1789),  and  declared  adopted  in  1791. 

f  The  eleventh  amendment  was  proposed  at  the  first  session  of 
the  third  Congress  (1794),  and  declared  adopted  in  1798. 

J  This  article  is  substituted  for  Clause  3,  Sec.  I.,  Art.  II.,  page 
317,  and  annuls  it.  It  was  declared  adopted  in  1804. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  6r 

Senate; — The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  presence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the 
certificates  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted; — The 
person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President, 
shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  per- 
son have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the 
highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those 
voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
states,  the  representation  from  each  state  having  one 
vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member 
or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority 
of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if 
the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President 
whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them, 
before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the 
Vice  President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the  Presi- 
dent. The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
as  Vice  President,  shall  be  the  Vice  President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors 
appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from 
the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall 
choose  the  Vice  President;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose 
shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Sena- 
tors, and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  neces- 
sary to  a  choice.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible 
to  the  office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice 
President  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  XIIL* 

SECTION  i.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude, 
except  as  punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall 
have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within  the  United 
States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 


*  The  thirteenth  amendment  was  proposed  at  the  second  session 
of  the  thirty-eighth  Congress  (1865),  and  declared  adopted  in  1865. 


62  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

SEC.  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this 
article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

ARTICLE  XIV.* 

SECTION  I.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the 
United  States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are 
citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  state  wherein, 
they  reside.  No  state  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law 
which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  state  deprive  any 
person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law,  nor  deny  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

SEC.  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among; 
the  several  states  according  to  their  respective  numbers, 
counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each  state,  ex- 
cluding Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at 
any  election  for  the  choice  of  Electors  for  President  and 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  representatives  in 
Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  state,  or 
the  members  of  the  Legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any 
of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  state,  being  twenty- one 
years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any 
way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or 
other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be 
reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such 
male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citi- 
zens twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  state. 

SEC.  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Repre- 
sentative in  Congress,  or  Elector  of  President  and  Vice 
President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the 
United  States,  or  under  any  state,  who,  having  previously 
taken  an  oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer 
of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  state  Legis- 
lature, or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  state, 
to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall 


*  The  fourteenth   amendment  was   first  proposed   at   the   first 
session  of  the  thirty-ninth  Congress,  1866,  and  declared  adopted  in 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  63 

have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same 
or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But 
Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  house, 
remove  such  disability. 

SEC.  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United 
States,  authorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for 
payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for  services  in  suppress- 
ing insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned. 
But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  state  shall  assume 
or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrec- 
tion or  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim 
for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave ;  but  all  such 
debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and 
void. 

SEC.  5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce, 
by  appropriate  legislation,  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE  XV.* 

SECTION  i.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States 
to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United 
States,  or  by  any  state,  on  account  of  race,  color,  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude. 

SEC.  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce 
this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

Washington  was  elected  the  First  President,  and 
inaugurated,  April  30,  1789,  at  New  York  city, 
which  was  then  the  seat  of  the  Federal  govern- 
ment. After  two  terms  as  Chief  Magistrate,  during 
which  he  succeeded  in  making  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  obeyed  and  respected  everywhere 
throughout  the  Union,  while  he  also  rebuked  the 


*  The  fifteenth  amendment  was  proposed  at  the  second  session 
of  the  fortieth  Congress,  in  1869,  and  declared  adopted  in  1870. 


64  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

attempts  of  France  to  encroach  on  the  rights  of  the 
American  people,  President  Washington  retired  to 
private  life.  His  Farewell  Address  will  ever  hold 
a  place  in  American  memories,  as  the  final  and  in- 
valuable public  utterance  of  him  who  was  indeed 
the  Father  of  Our  Country. 

Friends  and  Fellow-  Citizens  : 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  citizen  to  administer 
the  Executive  Government  of  the  United  States  being  not 
far  distant,  and  the  time  actually  arrived  when  your 
thoughts  must  be  employed  in  designating  the  person  who 
is  to  be  clothed  with  that  important  trust,  it  appears  to  me 
proper,  especially  as  it  may  conduce  to  a  more  distinct 
expression  of  the  public  voice,  that  I  should  now  apprise 
you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed,  to  decline  being  con- 
sidered among  the  number  of  those  out  of  whom  a  choice 
is  to  be  made. 

I  beg  you,  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be 
assured  that  this  resolution  has  not  been  taken  without  a 
strict  regard  to  all  the  considerations  appertaining  to  the 
relation  which  binds  a  dutiful  citizen  to  his  country;  and 
that,  in  withdrawing  the  tender  of  service,  which  silence, 
in  my  situation  might  imply,  I  am  influenced  by  no  di- 
minution of  zeal  for  your  future  interest ;  no  deficiency 
of  grateful  respect  for  your  past  kindness,  but  am  sup- 
ported by  a  full  conviction  that  the  step  is  compatible 
with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the 
office  to  which  your  suffrages  have  twice  called  me,  have 
been  a  uniform  sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the  opinion  of 
duty,  and  to  a  deference  for  what  appeared  to  be  your 
desire.  I  constantly  hoped  that  it  would  have  been  much 
earlier  in  my  power,  consistently  with  motives  which  I 
was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to  that  retire- 
ment from  which  I  had  been  reluctantly  drawn.  The 
strength  of  my  inclination  to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last 
election,  had  even  led  to  the  preparation  of  an  address 
to  declare  it  to  you ;  but  mature  reflection  on  the  then 
perplexed  and  critical  posture  of  our  affairs  with  foreign 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  65 

nations,  and  the  unanimous  advice  of  persons  entitled  to 
my  confidence,  impelled  me  to  abandon  the  idea. 

I  rejoice  that  the  state  of  your  concerns,  external  as 
well  as  internal,  no  longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclina- 
tion incompatible  with  the  sentiment  of  duty  or  propriety ; 
and  am  persuaded,  whatever  partiality  may  be  retained 
for  my  services,  that,  in  the  present  circumstances  of  our 
country,  you  will  not  disapprove  my  determination  to 
retire. 

The  impressions  with  which  I  first  undertook  the  ardu- 
ous trust  were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion.  In  the 
discharge  of  this  trust,  I  will  only  say,  that  I  have  with 
good  intentions  contributed  towards  the  organization  and 
administration  of  the  Government  the  best  exertions  of 
which  a  very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  Not  un- 
conscious in  the  outset  of  the  inferiority  of  my  qualifica- 
tions, experience,  in  my  own  eyes — perhaps  still  more  in 
the  eyes  of  others — has  strengthened  the  motives  to  diffi- 
dence of  myself;  and  every  day  the  increasing  weight  of 
years  admonishes  me,  more  and  more,  that  the  shade  of 
retirement  is  as  necessary  to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome. 
Satisfied  that  if  any  circumstances  have  given  peculiar 
value  to  my  services,  they  were  temporary,  I  have  the 
consolation  to  believe  that,  while  choice  and  prudence 
invite  me  to  quit  the  political  scene,  patriotism  does  not 
forbid  it. 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment  which  is  intended 
to  terminate  the  career  of  my  public  life,  my  feelings  do 
not  permit  me  to  suspend  the  deep  acknowledgment  of 
that  debt  of  gratitude  which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country 
for  the  many  honors  it  has  conferred  upon  me ;  still  more 
for  the  steadfast  confidence  with  which  it  has  supported 
me ;  and  for  the  opportunities  I  have  thence  enjoyed  of 
manifesting  my  inviolable  attachment,  by  services  faithful 
and  persevering,  though  in  usefulness  unequal  to  my  zeal. 
If  benefits  have  resulted  to  our  country  from  these  ser- 
vices, let  it  always  be  remembered  to  your  praise,  and  as 
an  instructive  example  in  our  annals  that,  under  circum- 
stances in  which  the  passions,  agitated  in  every  direction, 
were  liable  to  mislead;  amidst  appearances  sometimes 


66  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

dubious,  vicissitudes  of  fortune  often  discouraging;  in 
situations  in  which,  not  unfrequently,  want  of  success 
has  countenanced  the  spirit  of  criticism — the  constancy 
of  your  support  was  the  essential  prop  of  the  efforts,  and 
a  guarantee  of  the  plans,  by  which  they  were  effected. 
Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall  carry  it  with 
me  to  my  grave,  as  a  strong  incitement  to  unceasing  vows, 
that  Heaven  may  continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens  of 
its  beneficence ;  that  your  union  and  brotherly  affection 
may  be  perpetual ;  that  the  free  Constitution,  which  is  the 
work  of  your  hands,  may  be  sacredly  maintained ;  that 
its  administration,  in  every  department,  may  be  stamped 
with  wisdom  and  virtue ;  that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of 
the  people  of  these  states,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty, 
may  be  made  complete,  by  so  careful  a  preservation  and 
so  prudent  a  use  of  this  blessing  as  will  acquire  to  them 
the  glory  of  recommending  it  to  the  applause,  the  affec- 
tion, and  the  adoption  of  every  nation  which  is  yet  a 
stranger  to  it. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop ;  but  a  solicitude  for 
your  welfare,  which  cannot  end  but  with  my  life,  and 
the  apprehension  of  danger  natural  to  that  solicitude, 
urge  me,  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer  to  your 
solemn  contemplation,  and  to  recommend  to  your  fre- 
quent review,  some  sentiments  which  are  the  result  of 
much  reflection,  of  no  inconsiderable  observation,  and 
which  appear  to  me  all-important  to  the  permanency  of 
your  felicity  as  a  people.  These  will  be  afforded  to  you 
with  the  more  freedom,  as  you  can  only  see  in  them  the 
disinterested  warnings  of  a  parting  friend,  who  can  pos- 
sibly have  no  personal  motive  to  bias  his  counsel;  nor 
can  I  forget,  as  an  encouragement  to  it,  your  indulgent 
reception  of  my  sentiments  on  a  former  and  not  dissimilar 
occasion. 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  ligament 
of  your  hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  necessary 
to  fortify  or  confirm  the  attachment. 

The  unity  of  government,  which  constitutes  you  one 
people,  is  also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so;  for  it  is 
a  main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  your  real  independence — 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  67 

the  support  of  your  tranquillity  at  hom«,  your  peace 
abroad,  of  your  safety,  of  your  prosperity,  of  that  very 
liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize.  But  as  it  is  easy  to- 
foresee  that,  from  different  causes  and  from  different 
quarters,  much  pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  em- 
ployed, to  weaken  in  your  minds  the  conviction  of  this 
truth ;  as  this  is  the  point  in  your  political  fortress  against 
which  the  batteries  ot  internal  and  external  enemies  will 
be  most  constantly  and  actively  (though  often  covertly 
and  insidiously)  directed — it  is  of  infinite  moment  that 
you  should  properly  esiimate  the  immense  value  of  your 
National  Union  to  your  collective  and  individual  happi- 
ness; that  you  should  cherish  a  cordial,  habitual,  and 
immovable  attachment  to  it ;  accustoming  yourselves  to 
think  and  speak  of  it  as  of  the  palladium  of  your  political 
safety  and  prosperity ;  watching  for  its  preservation  with 
jealous  anxiety;  discountenancing  whatever  may  suggest 
even  a  suspicion  that  it  can,  in  any  event,  be  abandoned; 
and  indignantly  frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every 
attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country  from  the 
rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link  to- 
gether the  various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and 
interest.  Citizens  by  birth  or  choice,  of  a  common  coun- 
try, that  country  has  a  right  to  concentrate  your  affec- 
tions. The  name  of  American,  which  belongs  to  you  in 
your  national  capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just  pride 
of  patriotism,  more  than  any  appellation  derived 
from  local  discriminations.  With  slight  shades  of  differ- 
ence, you  have  the  same  religion,  manners,  habits,  and 
political  principles.  You  have,  in  a  common  cause,  fought 
and  triumphed  together;  the  independence  and  liberty 
you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  counsels  and  joint  efforts- 
— of  common  dangers,  sufferings,  and  successes. 

But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they 
address  themselves  to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  out- 
weighed by  those  which  apply  more  immediately  to  your 
interest :  here  every  portion  of  our  country  finds  the 
most  commanding  motives  for  carefully  guarding  and 
preserving  the  union  of  the  whole. 


68  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

The  North*  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  with  the 
South,  protected  by  the  equal  laws  of  a  common  govern- 
ment, finds,  in  the  productions  of  the  latter,  great  addi- 
tional resources  of  maritime  and  commercial  enterprise, 
and  precious  materials  of  manufacturing  industry.  The 
South  in  the  same  intercourse,  benefiting  by  the  agency 
of  the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow,  and  its  commerce 
expand.  Turning  partly  into  its  own  channels  the  sea- 
men of  the  North,  it  finds  its  particular  navigation  invig- 
orated ;  and  while  it  contributes,  in  different  ways,  to 
nourish  and  increase  the  general  mass  of  the  national 
navigation,  it  looks  forward  to  the  protection  of  a  mari- 
time strength  to  which  itself  is  unequally  adapted.  The 
East,  in  like  intercourse  with  the  West,  already  finds, 
and  in  the  progressive  improvement  of  interior  communi- 
cation, by  land  and  water,  will  more  and  more  find  a 
valuable  vent  for  the  commodities  which  it  brings  from 
abroad,  or  manufactures  at  home.  The  West  derives 
from  the  East  supplies  requisite  to  its  growth  and  com- 
fort ;  and  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  consequence,  it 
must,  of  necessity,  owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispen- 
sable outlets  for  its  own  productions,  to  the  weight,  in- 
fluence, and  the  future  maritime  strength  of  the  Atlantic 
side  of  the  Union,  directed  by  an  indissoluble  community 
of  interest  as  one  nation.  Any  other  tenure  by  which  the 
West  can  hold  this  essential  advantage,  whether  derived 
from  its  own  separate  strength,  or  from  an  apostate  and 
unnatural  connection  with  any  foreign  power,  must  be 
intrinsically  precarious. 

While,  then,  every  part  of  our  country  thus  feels  an 
immediate  and  particular  interest  in  UNION,  all  the  parts 
cc  mbined  cannot  fail  to  find,  in  the  united  mass  of  means 
and  efforts,  greater  strength,  greater  resource,  proportion- 
ably  greater  security  from  external  danger,  a  less  frequent 
interruption  of  their  peace  by  foreign  nations ;  and  what 
is  of  inestimable  value,  they  must  derive  from  union  an 
exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars  between  them- 
selves, which  so  frequently  afflict  neighboring  countries, 
not  tied  together  by  the  same  government;  which  their 
own  rivalships  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  produce,  but 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  69 

which  opposite  foreign  alliances,  attachments,  and  in- 
trigues, would  stimulate  and  embitter.  Hence,  likewise, 
they  will  avoid  the  necessity  of  those  overgrown  mili- 
tary establishments,  which,  under  any  form  of  govern- 
ment, are  inauspicious  to  liberty,  and  which  are  to  be 
regarded  as  particularly  hostile  to  republican  liberty ;  in 
this  sense  it  is  that  your  union  ought  to  be  considered  as 
a  main  prop  of  your  .liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the  one 
ought  to  endear  to  you  the  preservation  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to 
every  reflecting  and  virtuous  mind,  and  exhibit  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  Union  as  a  primary  object  of  patriotic 
desire.  Is  there  a  doubt,  whether  a  common  government 
can  embrace  so  large  a  sphere  ?  Let  experience  solve  it. 
To  listen  to  mere  speculation,  in  such  a  case,  were  crim- 
inal. We  are  authorized  to  hope,  that  a  proper  organiza- 
tion of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  govern- 
ments for  the  respective  subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy 
issue  to  the  experiment.  It  is  well  worth  a  fair  and  full 
experiment.  With  such  powerful  and  obvious  motives  to 
Union,  affecting  all  parts  of  our  country,  while  experience 
shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability,  there  will 
always  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those  who, 
in  any  quarter,  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its  bands. 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our 
Union,  it  occurs  as  a  matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any 
ground  should  have  been  furnished  for  characterizing 
parties  by  geographical  discriminations — Northern  and 
Southern — Atlantic  and  Western :  whence  designing  men 
may  endeavor  to  excite  a  belief  that  there  is  a  real  differ- 
ence of  local  interests  and  views.  One  of  the  expedients 
of  party  to  acquire  influence  within  particular  districts,  is 
to  misrepresent  the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts. 
You  cannot  shield  yourselves  too  much  against  the  jeal- 
ousies and  heart-burnings  which  spring  from  these  mis- 
representations ;  they  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other 
those  who  ought  to  be  bound  together  by  fraternal 
affection.  The  inhabitants  of  our  western  country  have 
lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on  this  head  ;  they  have  seen 
in  the  negotiation  by  the  Executive,  and  in  the  unani- 


70  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

mous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  of  the  treaty  with  Spain, 
and  in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  that  event  throughout 
the  United  States,  a  decisive  proof  how  unfounded  were 
the  suspicions  propagated  among  them  of  a  policy  in  the 
general  Government,  and  in  the  Atlantic  States,  un- 
friendly to  their  interests  in  regard  to  the  Mississippi, 
they  have  been  witnesses  to  the  formation  of  two  treaties 
— that  with  Great  Britain,  and  that  with  Spain— which 
secure  to  them  everything  they  could  desire  in  respect  to 
our  foreign  relations,  toward  confirming  their  prosperity. 
Will  it  not  be  their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preservation 
of  these  advantages  on  the  Union  by  which  they  were 
procured  ?  Will  they  not  henceforth  be  deaf  to  those 
advisers,  if  such  there  are,  who  would  sever  them  from 
their  brethren,  and  connect  them  with  aliens  ? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union,  a  Gov- 
ernment for  the  whole  is  indispensable.  No  alliance, 
however  strict  between  the  parts,  can  be  an  adequate  sub- 
stitute; they  must  inevitably  experience  the  infractions 
and  interruptions  which  all  alliances,  in  all  time,  have 
experienced.  Sensible  of  this  momentous  truth,  you 
have  improved  upon  your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of 
a  Constitution  of  Government  better  calculated  than  your 
former  for  an  intimate  Union,  and  for  the  efficacious  man- 
agement of  your  common  concerns.  This  Government, 
the  offspring  of  our  own  choice,  uninfluenced  and  un- 
awed,  adopted  upon  full  investigation  and  mature  delib- 
eration, completely  free  in  its  principles,  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  its  powers,  uniting  security  with  energy,  and 
containing  within  itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amend- 
ment, has  a  just  claim  to  your  confidence  and  your  support. 
Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance  with  its  laws, 
acquiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the 
fundamental  maxims  of  true  liberty.  The  basis  of  our 
political  systems,  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  make  and 
to  alter  their  constitution  of  Government ;  but  the  Con- 
stitution which  at  any  time  exists,  till  changed  by  an 
explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole  people,  is  sacredly 
obligatory  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  power  and 
the  right  of  the  people  to  establish  Government,  pre- 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  71 

supposes  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  obey  the  estab- 
lished Government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  all  com- 
binations and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible 
character,  with  the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  counter- 
act or  awe  the  regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the  con- 
stituted authorities,  are  destructive  to  this  fundamental 
principle,  and  of  fatal  tendency.  They  serve  to  organize 
faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary  force,  to 
put  in  the  place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  nation,  the 
will  of  a  party,  often  a  small  but  artful  and  enterprising 
minority  of  the  community;  and,  according  to  ihe  alter- 
nate triumphs  of  different  parties,  to  make  the  public 
administration  the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted  and  incon- 
gruous projects  of  faction,  rather  than  the  organ  of  con- 
sistent and  wholesome  plans,  digested  by  common 
counsels,  and  modified  by  mutual  interests. 

However  combinations  or  associations  of  the  above 
description  may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  they 
are  likely,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  to  become 
potent  engines,  by  which  cunning,  ambitious  and  unprin- 
cipled men,  will  be  enabled  to  subvert  the  power  of  the 
people,  and  to  usurp  for  themselves  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, destroying,  afterward,  the  very  engines  which  had 
lifted  them  to  unjust  dominion. 

Toward  the  preservation  of  your  Government,  and  the 
permanency  of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  requisite,  not 
only  that  you  steadily  discountenance  irregular  oppositions 
to  its  acknowledged  authority  but  also  that  you  resist  with 
care  the  spirit  of  innovation  upon  its  principles,  however 
specious  the  pretexts.  One  method  of  assault  may  be  to 
effect,  in  the  forms  of  the  Constitution,  alterations  which 
will  impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  and  thus  to  under- 
mine what  cannot  be  directly  overthrown.  In  all  the 
changes  to  which  you  may  be  invited,  remember  that  time 
and  habit  are  at  least  as  necessary  to  fix  the  true  character 
of  Governments  as  of  other  human  institutions  ;  that  ex- 
perience is  the  surest  standard  by  which  to  test  the  real 
tendency  of  the  existing  constitution  of  a  country ;  that 
facility  in  changes,  upon  the  credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and 


72  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

opinion,  exposes  to  perpetual  change,  from  the  endless 
variety  of  hypothesis  and  opinion;  and  remember, 
especially,  that  for  the  efficient  management  of  your 
common  interests,  in  a  country  so  extensive  as  ours,  a 
Government  of  as  much  vigor  as  is  consistent  with  the 
perfect  security  of  liberty,  is  indispensable.  Liberty  itself 
will  find  in  such  a  Government,  with  powers  properly 
distributed  and  adjusted,  its  surest  guardian.  It  is  indeed 
little  else  than  a  name,  where  the  Government  is  too 
feeble  to  withstand  the  enterprises  of  faction,  to  confine 
each  member  of  the  society  within  the  limits  prescribed 
by  the  laws,  and  to  maintain  all  in  the  secure  and  tranquil 
enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person  and  property. 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  parties 
in  the  state,  with  particular  reference  to  the  founding  of 
them  on  geographical  discriminations.  Let  me  now  take 
a  more  comprehensive  view,  and  warn  you  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  against  the  baneful  effects  of  the  spirit  of 
party  generally. 

This  spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  our 
nature,  having  its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the 
human  mind.  It  exists  under  different  shapes,  in  all 
Governments,  more  or  less  stifled,  controlled  or  repressed; 
but  in  those  of  the  popular  form  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest 
rankness,  and  is  truly  their  worst  enemy. 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another, 
sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge,  natural  to  party  dis- 
sension, which  in  different  ages  and  countries  has  per- 
petrated the  most  horrid  enormities,  is  itself  a  frightful 
despotism.  But  this  leads,  at  length,  to  a  more  formal 
and  permanent  despotism.  The  disorders  and  miseries 
which  result,  gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to  seek 
security  and  repose  in  the  absolute  power  of  an  individual, 
and,  sooner  or  later,  the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction, 
more  able  or  more  fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turns 
this  disposition  to  the  purposes  of  his  own  elevation,  on 
the  ruins  of  public  liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind 
(which,  nevertheless,  ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight), 
the  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  73 

are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a  wise 
people  to  discourage  and  restrain  it. 

It  serves  always  to  distract  the  public  councils,  and 
enfeeble  the  public  administration.  It  agitates  the  com- 
munity with  ill-founded  jealousies  and  false  alarms;, 
kindles  the  animosities  of  one  part  against  another ;. 
foments,  occasionally,  riot  and  insurrection.  It  opens  the 
door  to  foreign  influence  and  corruption,  which  find  a 
facilitated  access  to  the  Government  itself,  through  the 
channels  of  party  passions.  Thus  the  policy  and  the 
will  of  one  country  are  subjected  to  the  policy  and  will 
of  another. 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties,  in  free  countries,  are 
useful  checks  upon  the  administration  of  the  Government, 
and  serve  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  liberty.  This,  within 
certain  limits,  is  probably  true ;  and  in  governments  of  a 
monarchical  cast,  patriotism  may  look  with  indulgence, 
if  not  with  favor,  upon  the  spirit  of  party.  But  in  thos^ 
of  the  popular  character,  in  governments  purely  elective, 
it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged.  From  their  natural 
tendency,  it  is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of  that 
spirit  for  every  salutary  purpose.  And  there  being  con- 
stant danger  of  excess,  the  effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of 
public  opinion,  to  mitigate  and  assuage  it.  A  fire  not  to 
be  quenched,  it  demands  a  uniform  vigilance  to  prevent 
its  bursting  into  a  flame,  lest,  instead  of  warming,  it  should 
consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking,  in 
a  free  country,  should  inspire  caution  in  those  intrusted 
with  its  administration  to  confine  themselves  within  their 
respective  constitutional  spheres,  avoiding,  in  the  exercise 
of  the  powers  of  one  department,  to  encroach  upon 
another.  The  spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to  consoli- 
date the  powers  of  all  the  departments  in  one,  and  thus 
to  create,  whatever  the  form  of  Government,  a  real  des- 
potism. A  just  estimate  of  that  love  of  power,  and 
proneness  to  abuse  it  which  predominates  in  the  human 
heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  of  the  truth  of  this  posi- 
tion. The  necessity  of  reciprocal  checks  in  the  exercise 
of  political  power,  by  dividing  and  distributing  it  into 


74  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

different  depositories,  and  constituting  each  the  guardian 
•of  the  public  weal,  against  invasions  by  the  others,  has 
been  evinced  by  experiments,  ancient  and  modern ;  some 
of  them  in  our  own  country,  and  under  our  own  eyes. 
To  preserve  them  must  be  as  necessary  as  to  institute 
them.  If,  in  the  opinion  of  the  people,  the  distribution 
or  modification  of  the  constitutional  powers  be,  in  any 
particular,  wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an  amendment  in 
the  way  which  the  Constitution  designates.  But  let  there 
be  no  change  by  usurpation;  for  though  this,  in  one 
instance,  may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it  is  the  cus- 
tomary weapon  by  which  free  Governments  are  destroyed 
The  precedent  must  always  greatly  overbalance,  in  per- 
manent evil,  any  partial  or  transient  benefit  which  the  us. 
can,  at  any  time,  yield. 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  political 
prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are  indispensable  sup- 
ports. In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of 
patriotism,  who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  great  pillars 
of  human  happiness,  these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of 
men  and  citizens.  The  mere  politician,  equally  with  the 
pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them.  A 
volume  could  not  trace  all  their  connections  with  private 
and  public  felicity.  Let  it  simply  be  asked,  where  is  the 
security  for  property,  for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense 
of  religious  obligation  desert  the  oaths  which  are  the 
instruments  of  investigation  in  the  courts  of  justice  ?  And 
let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  supposition,  that  morality 
can  be  maintained  without  religion.  Whatever  may  be 
conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds 
of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and  experience  both  forbid 
us  to  expect  that  national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion 
of  religious  principles. 

It  is  substantially  true,  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a 
necessary  spring  of  popular  Government.  The  rule, 
indeed,  extends  with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species 
of  free  Government.  Who,  that  is  a  sincere  friend  to  it, 
can  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts  to  shake  ihe 
foundation  of  the  fabric? 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance, 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  75 

institutions  for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge.  In 
proportion  as  the  sl/ucture  of  a  government  gives  force 
to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should 
be  enlightened. 

As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security, 
cherish  public  credit.  One  method  of  preserving  it  is  to 
use  it  as  sparingly  as  possible ;  avoiding  occasions  of  ex- 
pense by  cultivating  peace,  but  remembering  also  that 
timely  disbursements  to  prepare  for  danger  frequently 
prevent  much  greater  disbursements  to  repel  it ;  avoiding, 
likewise,  the  accumulation  of  debt,  not  only  by  shunning 
occasions  of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time 
of  peace  to  discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable  wars 
may  have  occasioned ;  not  ungenerously  throwing  upon 
posterity  the  burden  which  we  ourselves  ought  to  bear. 
The  execution  of  these  maxims  belongs  to  your  rep- 
resentatives, but  it  is  necessary  that  public  opinion  should 
co-operate.  To  facilitate  to  them  the  performance  of 
their  duty,  it  is  essential  that  you  should  practically  bear 
in  mind,  that  toward  the  payment  of  debts  there  must  be 
revenue ;  that  to  have  revenue  there  must  be  taxes ;  that 
no  taxes  can  be  devised,  which  are  not  more  or  less  in- 
convenient and  unpleasant ;  that  the  intrinsic  embarrass- 
ment inseparable  from  the  selection  of  the  proper  objects 
(which  is  always  a  choice  of  difficulties,)  ought  to  be 
a  decisive  motive  for  a  candid  construction  of  the  conduct 
of  the  Government  in  making  it,  and  for  a  spirit  of 
acquiescence  in  the  measures  for  obtaining  revenue,  which 
the  public  exigencies  may  at  any  time  dictate. 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  toward  all  nations; 
cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all;  religion  and 
morality  enjoin  this  conduct;  and  can  it  be  that  good 
policy  does  not  equally  enjoin  it  ?  It  will  be  worthy  of 
a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant  period,  a  great 
nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too 
novel  example  of  a  people  always  guided  by  an  exalted 
justice  and  benevolence.  Who  can  doubt  that,  in  the 
course  of  time  and  things,  the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would 
richly  repay  any  temporary  advantages  which  might  be 
lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  it  ?  Can  it  be  that  Provi- 


76  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

dence  has  not  connected  the  permanent  felicity  of  a  nation 
with  its  virtue  ?  The  experiment,  at  least,  is  recommended 
by  every  sentiment  which  ennobles  human  nature.  Alas  ! 
is  it  rendered  impossible  by  its  vices  ? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan,  nothing  is  more 
essential  than  that  permanent  inveterate  antipathies 
against  particular  nations,  and  passionate  attachments  for 
others,  should  be  excluded ;  and  that,  in  place,  of  them, 
just  and  amicable  feelings  toward  all  should  be  culti- 
vated. The  nation  which  indulges  toward  another  an 
habitual  hatred,  or  an  habitual  fondness,  is,  in  some 
degree,  a  slave.  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity  or  to  its 
affection ;  either  of  which  is  sufficient  to  lead  it  astray 
from  its  duty  and  its  interest.  Antipathy  in  one  nation 
against  another,  disposes  each  more  readily  to  offer 
insult  and  injury,  to  lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of  umbrage, 
and  to  be  naughty  and  intractable,  when  accidental  or 
trifling  occasions  of  dispute  occur.  Hence  frequent  col- 
lisions, obstinate,  envenomed,  and  bloody  contests.  The 
nation  prompted  by  ill-will  and  resentment,  sometimes 
impels  to  war  the  Government,  contrary  to  the  best 
calculations  of  policy.  The  Government  sometimes  par- 
ticipates in  the  national  propensity,  and  adopts,  through 
passion,  what  reason  would  reject;  at  other  times  it  makes 
the  animosity  of  the  nation  subservient  to  projects  of 
hostility,  instigated  by  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister 
and  pernicious  motives.  The  peace  often,  sometimes 
perhaps  the  liberty,  of  nations  has  been  the  victim. 

So,  likewise,  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  nation  to 
another  produces  a  variety  of  evils.  Sympathy  for  the 
favorite  nation,  facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary 
common  interest,  in  cases  where  no  real  common  interest 
exists,  and  infusing  into  one  the  enmities  of  the  other, 
betrays  the  former  into  a  participation  in  the  quarrels  and 
wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate  inducement  or  justi- 
fication. It  leads  also  to  concessions  to  the  favorite 
nation  of  privileges  denied  to  ethers,  which  is  apt  doubly 
to  injure  the  nation  making  the  concessions ;  t>y  unne- 
cessarily parting  with  what  ought  to  have  been  retained, 
and  by  exciting  jealousy,  ill-will,  and  a  disposition  to 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  77 

retaliate,  in  the  parties  from  whom  equal  privileges  are 
withheld ;  and  it  gives  to  ambitious,  corrupted,  or  deluded 
citizens  (who  devote  themselves  to  the  favorite  nation), 
facility  to  betray,  or  sacrifice  the  interest  of  their  own 
country,  without  odium ;  sometimes  even  with  popularity ; 
gilding  with  the  appearance  of  a  virtuous  sense  of  obliga- 
tion, a  commendable  deference  for  public  opinion,  or  a 
laudable  zeal  for  public  good  the  base  or  foolish  compli- 
ances of  ambition,  corruption,  or  infatuation. 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways, 
such  attachments  are  particularly  alarming  to  the  truly 
enlightened  and  independent  patriot.  How  many  oppor- 
tunities do  they  afford  to  tamper  with  domestic  factions, 
to  practice  the  art  of  seduction,  to  mislead  public  opinion, 
to  influence  or  awe  the  public  councils  !  Such  an  attach- 
ment of  a  small  or  weak,  toward  a  great  and  powerful 
nation,  dooms  the  former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter. 

Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence  (I 
conjure  you  to  believe  me,  fellow-citizens,)  the  jealousy 
of  a  free  people  ought  to  be  constantly  awake;  since 
history  and  experience  prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one 
of  the  most  baneful  foes  of  republican  government.  But 
that  jealousy,  to  be  useful,  must  be  impartial;  else  it 
becomes  the  instrument  of  the  very  influence  to  be 
avoided,  instead  of  a  defence  against  it.  Excessive  par- 
tiality for  one  foreign  nation,  and  excessive  dislike  for 
another,  cause  those  whom  they  actuate  to  see  danger 
only  on  one  side,  and  serve  to  veil,  and  even  second,  the 
arts  of  influence  on  the  other.  Real  patriots,  who  may 
resist  the  intrigues  of  the  favorite,  are  liable  to  become 
suspected  and  odious;  while  its  took  and  dupes  usurp 
the  applause  and  confidence  of  the  people,  to  surrender 
their  interests. 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  foreign 
nations,  is,  in  extending  our  commercial  relations,  to  have 
with  them  as  little  political  connection  as  possible.  So 
far  as  we  have  already  formed  engagements,  Jet  them  be 
fulfilled  with  perfect  good  faith.  Here  let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  .which  to  us  have 
none,  or  a  very  remote  relation.  Hence  she  must  be 


78  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

engaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which 
are  essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns.  Hence,  therefore, 
it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  ourselves,  by  artificial 
ties,  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her  politics,  cr  the 
ordinary  combinations  and  collisions  of  her  friendships  or 
enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables 
us  to  pursue  a  different  course.  If  we  remain  one  people, 
under  an  efficient  government,  the  period  is  not  far  off 
when  we  may  defy  material  injury  from  external  annoy- 
ance ;  when  we  may  take  such  an  attitude  as  will  cause 
the  neutrality  we  may  at  any  time  resolve  upon,  to  be 
scrupulously  respected ;  when  belligerent  nations,  under 
the  impossibility  of  making  acquisitions  upon  us,  will  not 
lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provocation ;  when  we  may 
choose  peace  or  war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by  justice, 
shall  counsel. 

"Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  ? 
Why  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground  ?  Why, 
by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of 
Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of 
European  ambition,  rivalship,  interest,  humor  or  caprice  ? 

It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alliances 
with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world ;  so  far,  I  mean,  as 
we  are  now  at  liberty  to  do  it ;  for  let  me  not  be  under- 
stood as  capable  of  patronizing  infidelity  to  existing- 
engagements.  I  hold  the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to 
public  than  to  private  affairs,  that  honesty  is  always  the 
best  policy.  I  repeat  it,  therefore,  let  those  engagements 
be  observed  in  their  genuine  sense.  Eut,  in  my  opinion, 
it  is  unnecessary,  and  would  be  unwise  to  extend  them. 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  es- 
tablishments, on  a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we  may 
safely  trust  to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary 
emergencies. 

Harmony,  and  a  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are 
recommended  by  policy,  humanity  and  interest.  But  even 
our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and  impartial 
hand ;  neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive  favors  or 
preferences;  consulting  the  natural  course  of  things; 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  79 

diffusing  and  diversifying,  by  gentle  means,  the  streams  of 
commerce,  but  forcing  nothing ;  establishing,  with  powers 
so  disposed,  in  order  to  give  trade  a  stable  course,  lo  de- 
fine the  rights  of  our  merchants,  and  to  enable  the  Gov- 
ernment to  support  them,  conventional  rules  of  inter- 
course, the  best  that  present  circumstances  and  mutual 
opinions  will  permit,  but  temporary,  and  liable  to  be,  from 
time  to  time,  abandoned  or  varied,  as  experience  and  cir- 
cumstances shall  dictate;  constantly  keeping  in  view,, 
that  it  is  folly  in  one  nation  to  look  for  disinterested 
favors  from  another ;  that  it  must  pay,  with  a  portion  of 
its  independence,  for  whatever  it  may  accept  under  that 
character;  that  by  such  acceptance  it  may  place  itself  in 
the  condition  of  having  given  equivalents  for  nominal 
favors,  and  yet  of  being  reproached  with  ingratitude  for 
not  giving  more.  There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to- 
expect,  or  calculate  upon,  real  favors  from  nation  to  na- 
tion. It  is  an  illusion  which  experience  must  cure,  which 
a  just  pride  ought  to  discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an 
old  and  affectionate  friend,  I  dare  not  hope  they  will 
make  the  strong  and  lasting  impression  I  could  wish ;  that 
they  will  control  the  usual  current  of  the  passions,  or 
prevent  our  nation  from  running  the  course  which  has 
hitherto  marked  the  destiny  of  nations ;  but  if  I  may  even 
flatter  myself  that  they  may  be  productive  of  some  partial 
benefit,  some  occasional  good ;  that  they  may  now  and 
then  recur  to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to  warn 
against  the  mischiefs  of  foreign  intrigues,  to  guard  against 
the  impostures  of  pretended  patriotism ;  this  hope  will  be 
a  full  recompense  for  the  solicitude  for  your  welfare  by 
which  they  have  been  dictated. 

How  far,  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties,  I  have 
been  guided  by  the  principles  which  have  been  delineated, 
the  public  records  and  other  evidences  of  my  conduct 
must  witness  to  you  and  the  world.  To  myself,  the  as- 
surance of  my  own  conscience  is  that  I  have  at  least  be- 
lieved myself  to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  war  in  Europe,  my 
proclamation  of  the  22d  of  April,  1793,  is  the  index  to> 


So  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

my  plan.  Sanctioned  by  your  approving  voice,  and  by 
that  of  your  Representatives  in  both  Houses  of  Congress, 
the  spirit  of  that  measure  has  continually  governed  me, 
uninfluenced  by  any  attempts  to  deter  or  divert  me 
from  it. 

After  deliberate  examination,  with  the  aid  of  the  best 
lights  I  could  obtain,  I  was  well  satisfied  that  our  country, 
under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right  to 
take,  and  was  bound  in  duty  and  interest  to  take,  a  neutral 
position.  Having  taken  it,  I  determined,  as  far  as  should 
depend  upon  me,  to  maintain  it  with  moderation,  perse- 
verance and  firmness. 

The  considerations  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this 
conduct,  it  is  not  necessary  on  this  occasion  to  detail.  I 
will  only  observe  that,  according  to  my  understanding  of 
the  matter,  that  right,  so  far  from  being  denied  by  any  of 
the  belligerent  powers,  has  been  virtually  admitted  by 
•all* 

The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral  conduct  may  be  inferred, 
•without  anything  more,  from  the  obligation  which  justice 
and  humanity  impose  on  every  nation,  in  cases  in  which 
it  is  free  to  act,  to  maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of  peace 
and  amity  toward  other  nations. 

The  inducements  of  interest,  for  observing  that  con- 
duct, will  best  be  referred  to  your  own  reflections  and  ex- 
perience. With  me,  a  predominant  motive  has  been  to 
•endeavor  to  gain  time  to  our  country  to  settle  and 
mature  in  its  yet  recent  institutions,  and  to  progress, 
without  interruption,  to  that  degree  of  strength  and  con- 
sistency  which  is  necessary  to  give  it,  humanly  speaking, 
the  command  of  its  own  fortunes. 

Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administra- 
tion, I  am  unconscious  of  intentional  error,  I  am,  never- 
theless, too  sensible  of  my  defects  not  to  think  it  probable 
that  I  may  have  committed  many  errors.  Whatever  they 
may  be,  I  fervently  beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or 
mitigate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend.  I  shall  also 
carry  with  me  the  hope  that  my  country  will  never  cease 
to  view  them  with  indulgence ;  and  that,  after  forty-five 
years  of  my  life  dedicated  to  its  service  with  an  upright 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  81 

zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent  abilities  will  be  consigned 
to  oblivion,  as  myself  must  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of 
rest. 

Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this,  as  in  other  things,  and 
actuated  by  that  fervent  love  towards  it  which  is  so  natural 
to  a  man  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself  and 
his  progenitors  for  several  generations,  I  anticipate,  with 
pleasing  expectation,  that  retreat  in  which  I  promise  my- 
self to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  par- 
taking, in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign 
influence  of  good  laws  under  a  free  government — the 
ever  favorite  object  of  my  heart — and  the  happy  reward, 
as  I  trust,  of  our  mutual  cares,  labors  and  dangers. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 
UNITED  STATES,  ijth  September,  1796. 


82  HAND  BOOK  FOR 


PART  III 
THE  MONROE   DOCTRINE. 

NOT  A  PART  OF  NATIONAL  L,AW. 

The  Monroe  Doctrine,  so-called,  is  not  a  part  of 
the  national  law.  The  people  and  government  of 
the  United  States  are  in  no  sense  committed  to  its 
enforcement ;  yet  it  undoubtedly  has  a  strong  hold 
upon  American  sentiment,  and  the  American  peo- 
ple would  regard  with  disfavor  any  failure  to  main- 
tain the  principle  therein  embodied.  James  Mon- 
roe, the  fifth  President  of  the  United  States,  was 
a  cautious  and  prudent  statesman  as  well  as  a 
courageous  soldier.  Throughout  the  war  between 
Spain  and  her  revolted  colonies  in  South  America, 
he  maintained  a  strict  neutrality.  In  his  message 
to  Congress  in  December,  1819,  President  Monroe 
said  that  "the  greatest  care  has  been  taken  to 
enforce  the  laws  intended  to  preserve  an  impartial 
neutrality;  our  ports  have  been  equally  open  to 
both  parties,  and  our  citizens  have  been  equally 
restrained  from  interfering  with  either  to  the  preju- 
dice of  the  other. "  On  the  8th  of  March,  1822, 
President  Monroe  communicated  to  Congress  a 
message  in  which,  after  noticing  the  progress  of 
the  war  in  South  America,  he  stated  that ' '  when  we 
regard  the  great  length  of  time  this  war  has  been 
prosecuted,  the  complete  success  which  has 
attended  it  in  favor  of  the  provinces,  the  present 
condition  of  the  parties,  and  the  utter  inability  of 
Spain  to  produce  any  change  in  it,  we  are  com- 
pelled to  conclude  that  its  fate  is  settled,  and  that 
the  provinces  which  have  declared  their  independ- 
ence are  in  the  enjoyment  of  it  and  ought  to  be 
recognized. ' '  This  message  and  the  accompanying 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  85 

documents  were  referred  to  a  committee,  which 
made  a  long  report,  recommending  the  recognition 
of  the  independence  of  the  Mexican  and  South 
American  Republics.  Congress  adopted  the  report,, 
and  not  long  afterward  ministers  were  appointed 
to  Colombia,  Mexico  and  Buenos  Ayres.  This  in- 
troductory statement  is  necessary,  as  it  is  some- 
times sought  to  convey  the  impression  that  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  was  a  fulmination  against  foreign 
rule  in  America,  and  was  influential  in  securing 
South  American  independence.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  the  South  Americans  had  gained  their  inde- 
pendence before  President  Monroe  gave  utterance 
to  his  famous  "doctrine,"  in  a  subsequent  message 
of  December  2,  1823. 

The  words  of  the  memorable  declaration  consti- 
tute two  paragraphs  of  the  message.  In  the  first 
•of  these  paragraphs  President  Monroe  declares  that 
the  governments  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain  have 
been  informed  that  the  American  continents  hence- 
forth are  not  to  be  considered  subjects  for  future 
colonization  by  any  European  powers.  In  the 
second  paragraph  he  says  that  the  United  States 
would  consider  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
European  powers  to  extend  their  system  to  any 
portion  of  this  hemisphere  as  dangerous  to  our 
peace  and  safety.  He  goes  further  and  says  that  if 
two  governments  established  m  North  or  South 
America  who  have  declared  their  independence  of 
European  control  should  be  interfered  with  by  any 
European  power,  this  interference  would  be  re- 
garded as  the  manifestation  of  unfriendly  disposi- 
tion to  the  United  States.  These  utterances  were 
addressed  especially  to  Spain  and  Portugal.  The 
two  passages  of  the  message  are  as  follows : 

TEXT  OF  THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE. 
"  At  the  proposal  of  the  Russian  imperial  government, 
made  through  the  minister  of  the  emperor  residing  here, 
full  power  and  instructions  have  been  transmitted  to  the 


$4  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

minister  of  the  United  States  at  St.  Petersburg  to  arrange, 
by  amicable  negotiation,  the  respective  rights  and  interests 
of  the  two  nations  on  the  northwest  coast  of  this  conti- 
nent. A  similar  proposal  has  been  made  by  his  imperial 
majesty  to  the  Government  of  Great  Britain,  which  has 
likewise  been  acceded  to.  The  Government  of  the 
United  States  has  been  desirous,  by  this  friendly  proceed- 
ing, of  manifesting  the  great  value  which  they  have  invaria- 
bly attached  to  the  friendship  of  the  emperor,  and  their 
solicitude  to  cultivate  the  best  understanding  with  his 
government.  In  the  discussions  to  which  this  interest  has 
given  rise,  and  in  the  arrangements  by  which  they  may 
terminate,  the  occasion  has  been  judged  proper  for 
asserting  as  a  principle  in  which  the  rights  and  interests 
of  the  United  States  are  involved,  that  the  American  con- 
tinents, by  the  free  and  independent  condition  which 
they  have  assumed  and  maintain,  are  henceforth  not  to 
be  considered  as  subjects  for  colonization  by  any  European 

power We  owe  it,  therefore,  to  candor,  and 

to  the  amicable  relations  existing  between  the  United 
States  and  those  powers,  to  declare  that  we  should  con- 
sider any  attempt  on  their  part  to  extend  their  system  to 
any  portion  of  this  hemisphere  as  dangerous  to  our  peace 
and  safety.  With  the  existing  colonies  or  dependencies 
of  any  European  power  we  have  not  interfered,  and  shall 
not  interfere.  But  with  the  governments  who  have  de- 
clared their  independence  and  maintained  it,  and  whose 
independence  we  have,  on  great  consideration  and  on 
just  principles,  acknowledged,  we  could  not  view  any 
interposition  for  the  purpose  of  oppressing  them,  or  con- 
trolling in  any  other  manner  their  destiny,  by  any  Euro- 
pean power,  in  any  other  light  than  as  the  manifestation 
of  an  unfriendly  disposition  toward  the  United  States." 


MINISTER  ANDERSON  AT  BOGOTA. 

On  the  9th  of  December,  1823,  the  seventh  day 
after  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  enunciated  at  Wash- 
ington, Mr.  Anderson,  minister  of  the  United 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  85 

States  to  Colombia,  delivered  his  credentials  to  the 
government  at  Bogota,  being  the  first  minister 
received  from  any  foreign  power  outside  of  Spanish 
America.  Mr.  Anderson's  address  on  that  occasion, 
may  no  doubt  be  regarded  as  reflecting  the  views 
of,  if  not  directly  dictated  by  President  Monroe, 
and  is  of  interest  in  connection  with  the  President's- 
celebrated  message.  He  said  : 

"  Mr.  President :  The  President  of  the  United  States,, 
animated  by  an  ardent  wish  to  continue  the  relations  of 
perfect  harmony  and  generous  friendship  between  our 
respective  countries,  has  commanded  me  to  give  the  most 
satisfactory  expression  to  the  liberal  feelings  which  he,  as 
well  as  the  people  of  the  United  States,  must  ever  enter- 
tain toward  the  institutions  of  freedom  in  every  country. 
I  tender  to  you  his  anxious  wishes  for  the  restoration  of 
peace  to  this  republic,  and  prosperity  to  its  citizens.  My 
own  admiration  of  the  liberal  institutions  of  Colombia, 
and  of  the  glorious  manner  in  which  they  have  been. 
created  and  sustained,  affords  the  surest  pledge  of  the 
sincerity  of  my  sentiments.  If  this  mission  shall  have  the 
happy  effect  of  giving  solidity  and  duration  to  the  harmo- 
nious feelings  of  our  countrymen,  it  will  be  a  source  of 
unaffected  joy  to  every  friend  of  free  government. 

"  It  is  on  this  continent,  and  in  this  age,  Mr.  President,, 
that  man  has  been  awakened  to  the  long  lost  truth,  that, 
under  Heaven,  he  is  capable  of  governing  himself;  that 
God  has  not  given  to  him  in  vain  the  part  and  intellect  of 
a  human  being.  Every  motive  that  can  operate  on  a  good 
man,  urges  him  to  cherish  the  institutions  founded  on  the 
development  of  these  truths,  and  to  nourish  the  principles 
which  can  alone  sustain  them.  The  sublimest  spectacle 
that  we  can  enjoy,  is  to  contemplate  our  fellow  man  ex- 
plaining and  teaching,  by  reason  and  argument,  the  truth, 
that  *  voluntary  agreement  is  the  only  legitimate  source  of 
political  poivet-?  When  a  nation  is  penetrated  with  this 
truth,  its  liberty  is  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  force  or 
fraud. 

"  Under  such  governments,  we  may  fondly  hope  to  see 


86  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  people  of  this  continent  devoted  only  to  those  acts 
•which  give  comfort  and  enjoyment  to  domestic  life,  and 
the  highest  polish  to  intellectual  improvement.  It  has 
long,  indeed,  been  the  doctrine  of  despots,  that  the  arts  of 
peace  are  too  limited  to  fill  the  employments  of  man  ;  and 
their  sincerity,  in  this  doctrine,  has  been  manifested  by 
the  slaughter  of  millions.  Let  it,  then,  be  the  high  duty 
of  those  who  guide  the  destinies  of  the  American  repub- 
lics, by  abstaining  from  every  hostile  collision,  to  demon- 
strate the  falsehood  of  a  principle  so  mortifying  to  good 
men,  and  consolatory  only  to  tyrants.  Time  has  not  yet, 
indeed,  permitted  us  to  see,  in  its  full  extent,  the  effect 
•which  the  principles  of  government  evolved  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent,  may  have  on  the  habits  or  practices  of 
man;  but  enough  has  already  been  disclosed  to  cheer  the 
friends  of  peace,  and  to  animate  them  to  new  vigilance  in 
cherishing  those  principles,  which,  abjuring  war  and 
blood-shed,  lead  only  to  peace. 

"  In  conclusion,  let  me  say,  that,  while  the  establish- 
ment of  this  republic  gives  to  the  world  a  most  brilliant 
example  of  the  triumph  of  valor  and  of  virtue,  so  may  it 
continue  to  succeeding  generations,  an  illustrious  monu- 
ment of  the  omnipotence  of  truth  and  a  good  cause." 


THE  HOLY  ALLIANCE  AND  THE  MONROE 
DOCTRINE. 

While  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  of  no  assistance 
to  the  people  of  South  America  in  obtaining  their 
independence,  it  was  undoubtedly  of  great  and 
immediate  influence  in  preventing 'the  destruction 
of  republican  government  in  South  America  by  the 
allied  powers  of  Europe.  One  of  the  chief  objects 
of  "the  Holy  Alliance,"  formed  upon  the  overthrow 
of  Napoleon  for  the  purpose  of  readjusting  the  map 
of  Europe,  was  to  quench  forever  the  torch  of 
liberty  lighted  at  the  fires  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion. It  is  an  interesting  fact,  which  has  escaped 
the  historical  attention  due  to  it,  that  no  royal  house 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  87 

was  more  anxious  to  see  fi  ee  institutions  overthrown 
in  America  than  the  miserable  House  of  Bourbon, 
replaced  by  foreign  bayonets  on  the  throne  of 
France,  and  ever  fearful  that  the  French  people 
might  again  be  aroused  to  cast  off  the  degenerate 
and  odious  dynasty  thus  reimposed  upon  them. 
The  cabinet  of  Louis  XVIII.  attempted  by  intrigue 
and  artifice  to  establish  in  the  United  Provinces — 
now  known  as  Argentina — a  monarchy  under  a 
European  prince  related  to  the  Bourbons.  The 
prince  selected  was  the  Duke  of  Lucca,  and  it  was 
proposed  that  France  should  furnish  the  necessary 
land  and  naval  forces  to  support  the  new  king  on 
his  throne,  and  that  the  Duke  should  marry  a 
princess  of  Brazil.  The  congress  of  the  United 
Provinces  was  actually  induced  to  consent  to  this 
proposal,  on  the  condition  that  France  should 
supply  troops,  ships  and  money  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  monarchy,  and  that  Brazil  should  make 
certain  territorial  concessions.  The  people,  how- 
ever, had  more  virtue  than  their  rulers,  and 
although  driven  to  hard  straits  in  resisting  Spain, 
they  refused  to  barter  their  liberties  to  France. 
The  scheme  fell  through,  and  those  who  had  favored 
it  were  treated  with  indignation  and  contempt. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  announcement  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  put  a  quietus  for  the  time  being 
upon  European  intrigue  against  the  South  Ameri- 
can republics.  These  intrigues  were,  however, 
promptly  revived  as  the  United  States  became 
involved  in  civil  war,  and  European  dynasties  were 
once  more  animated  with  the  hope  that  the  one 
republic  in  America  whose  power  they  feared  and 
whose  prowess  they  had  been  taught  by  severe 
experience  to  respect  was  on  the  brink  of  destruc- 
tion. The  story  of  Maximilian  needs  not  to  be 
recalled  by  this  generation.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
never  was  a  capital  sentence  inflicted  more  justly 
than  in  the  case  of  that  Austrian  prince,  and  never 
was  a  more  wholesome  lesson  administered  to  the 


88  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

royalties  of  Europe.  Any  European  prince  who 
should  volunteer  now  for  a  mission  similar  to  that 
of  Maximilian  would  doubtless  be  looked  upon  by 
his  relatives  as  a  fit  subject  for  medical  examina- 
tion as  to  his  sanity. 


How  SEWARD  ENFORCED  THE  MONROE 
DOCTRINE. 

In  a  dispatch  to  the  French  minister,  February 
12,  1866,  relating  to  the  presence  of  the  French  in 
Mexico,  Secretary  of  State  William  H.  Seward 
delivered  the  following  practical  interpretation  of 
the  Monroe  Doctrine,  as  applied  to  one  of  the 
independent  republics  of  this  continent : 

"The  United  States  have  not  seen  any  satisfac- 
tory evidence  that  the  j>eople  of  Mexico  have 
spoken,  and  have  called  into  being,  or  accepted, 
the  so-called  empire,  which  it  is  insisted  has  been 
set  up  in  their  capital.  The  withdrawal  of  the 
French  forces  is  deemed  necessary  to  allow  such  a 
proceeding  to  be  taken  by  Mexico.  Of  course  the 
Emperor  of  France  is  entitled  to  determine  the 
aspect  in  which  the  Mexican  situation  ought  to  be 
regarded  by  him.  Nevertheless  the  view  which  I 
have  thus  presented  is  the  one  which  this  nation 
has  accepted.  It  therefore  recognizes,  and  must 
continue  to  recognize  in  Mexico  only  the  ancient 
republic ;  and  it  can  in  no  case  consent  to  involve 
itself,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  relation  with 
or  recognition  of  the  institution  of  the  Prince  Maxi- 
milian in  Mexico.  Under  these  circumstances  it 
has  happened,  either  rightfully  or  wrongfully,  that 
the  presence  of  European  armies  in  Mexico,  main- 
taining a  European  prince  with  imperial  attributes, 
without  her  consent  and  against  her  will,  is  deemed 
a  source  of  apprehension  and  danger,  not  alone  to 
the  United  States,  but  also  to  all  the  independent 
and  sovereign  republican  States  founded  on  the 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  89 

American  continent  and  its  adjacent  islands.  *  *  * 
The  United  States  rest  content  with  submitting  to 
France  the  exigencies  of  an  embarrassing  situation 
In  Mexico,  and  expressing  the  hope  that  France 
may  find  some  manner  which  shall  at  once  be  con- 
sistent with  her  interest  and  honor,  and  with  the 
principles  and  interest  of  the  United  States,  to 
relieve  that  situation  without  injurious  delay." 

When  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  several  months 
after  this  clear  and  courteous  statement  of  the  policy 
of  the  United  States  had  been  transmitted,  still 
sought  to  postpone  the  withdrawal  of  the  French 
troops,  Mr.  Seward  sent  the  following  ultimatum: 

"The  Emperor's  decision  to  modify  the  existing 
arrangement  without  any  understanding  with  the 
United  States,  so  as  to  leave  the  whole  French 
army  in  Mexico  for  the  present,  instead  of  with- 
drawing one  detachment  in  November  current,  as 
promised,  is  now  found  in  every  way  inconvenient 
and  exceptionable.  We  cannot  acquiesce,  first, 
because  the  term  '  next  spring,'  as  appointed  fo» 
the  entire  evacuation,  is  indefinite  and  vague ;  and, 
second,  because  we  have  no  authority  for  stating 
to  Congress  and  to  the  American  people  that  we 
have  now  a  better  guarantee  for  the  withdrawal  of 
the  whole  expeditionary  force  in  the  spring  than 
we  have  heretofore  had  for  the  withdrawal  of  a 
part  in  November ;  third,  in  full  reliance  tipon  at 
least  a  literal  performance  of  the  Emperor's  existing 
agreement,  we  have  taken  measures,  while  facili- 
tating the  anticipated  French  evacuation,  to  co- 
operate with  the  republican  government  of  Mexico 
for  promoting  the  pacification  of  that  country,  and 
for  the  early  and  complete  restoration  of  the  con- 
stitutional authority  of  that  government.  The 
President  sincerely  hopes  and  expects  that  the 
evacuation  of  Mexico  will  be  carried  into  effect 
with  such  conformity  to  the  existing  agreement  as 
the  inopportune  complication  which  calls  for  this 
dispatch  shall  allow.  Instructions  will  be  issued 


90  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

to  the  United  States  military  forces  of  observation 
to  await  in  every  case  special  directions  from  the 
President  This  will  be  done  with  a  confident  ex- 
pectation that  the  telegraph  or  the  mail  may 
seasonably  bring  us  a  satisfactory  resolution  from 
the  Emperor  in  reply  to  this  note." 

In  November,  1866,  the  United  States  appointed 
a  minister,  accredited  to  the  republican  govern- 
ment of  Mexico.  Our  minister  was  advised  as 
follows : 

«'  There  are  some  principles  which  may  be  safely  laid 
down  in  regard  to  the  policy  which  the  government  will 
expect  you  to  pursue.  The  first  of  these  is  that,  as  a 
representative  of  the  United  States,  you  are  accredited  to 
the  republican  government  of  Mexico,  of  which  Mr. 
Juaree  is  President.  Your  communications,  as  such 
representative,  will  be  made  to  him,  wheresoever  he 
may  be;  and  in  no  event  will  you  officially  recognize  the 
Prince  Maximilian,  who  claims  to  be  Emperor,  or  any 
other  person,  chief,  or  combination  as  exercising  the 
executive  authority  in  Mexico,  without  having  first 
reported  to  this  department.  *  *  *  It  may  possibly 
happen  that  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico 
may  desire  the  good  offices  of  the  United  States,  or  even 
some  effective  proceedings  on  our  part,  to  favor  and 
advance  the  pacification  of  a  country  so  long  distracted 
by  foreign  combined  with  civil  war,  and  thus  gain  time 
for  the  re-establishment  of  national  authority  upon  prin- 
ciples consistent  with  a  republican  and  domestic  system 
of  government.  It  is  possible,  moreover,  that  some  dis- 
position might  be  made  of  the  land  and  naval  forces  of 
the  United  States,  without  interfering  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Mexico,  or  violating  the  laws  of  neutrality,  which 
would  be  useful  in  favoring  the  restoration  of  law,  order 
and  republican  government  in  that  country.  The  Lieu- 
tenant-General of  the  United  States  Army  possesses 
already  discretionary  authority  as  to  the  location  of  the 
forces  of  the  United  States  in  the  vicinity  of  Mexico. 
His  military  experience  will  enable  him  to  advise  you 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  91 

concerning  such  questions  us  may  arise  during  the  transi- 
tion stage  of  Mexico  from  a  state  of  military  siege  by  a 
foreign  enemy  to  a  condition  of  practical  self-government. 
At  the  same  time  it  will  be  in  his  power,  being  near  the 
scene  of  action,  to  issue  any  orders  which  may  be  exped- 
ient or  necessary  for  maintaining  the  obligations  resiing 
upon  the  United  Slates  in  regard  to  proceedings  upon  the 
borders  of  Mexico.  For  the>e  reasons  he  has  been 
requested  and  instructed  by  the  President  to  proceed 
with  you  to  your  destination,  and  act  with  you  as  an 
adviser,  recognized  by  this  department,  in  regard  to  the 
matiers  which  have  been  herein  discussed." 

The  Emperor  Napoleon  did  not  wait  for  the 
United  States  to  take  hostile  action.  The  French 
troops  were  withdrawn,  and  Maximilian's  empire 
fell  like  a  house  of  cards. 


THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE  TO-DAY. 

Notwithstanding  the  lesson  of  Mexico,  Europe 
has  not  given  up  the  idea  of  controlling  American 
destinies,  and  the  Monroe  doctrine  does  not  apply 
only  to  attempts  to  impose  monarchical  institutions 
on  free  American  States.  Only  two  or  three  years 
ago  the  Marquis  of  L/orne,  son  in-law  to  the  Queen 
of  Great  Britain,  of  Canada,  and  I  may  add  also, 
of  British  Guiana,  proposed  that  England  and  Ger- 
many should  establish  a  protectorate  over  the 
Argentine  Republic.  Such  was  the  statement 
published  to  the  world,  and  I  have  never  setn  it 
denied.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  Lome  probably  re- 
flected the  views  of  Windsor,  if  not  of  Downing 
street.  The  enemies  of  the  republican  govern- 
ment in  Brazil  were,  according  to  published  reports, 
' '  fin anced  ' '  in  their  attempted  revolution  by  British 
capitalists,  whose  loans  were  to  be  repaid  on  the 
restoration  of  the  empire.  The  Brazilian  rebels 
were  certainly  supported  in  the  most  rabid  manner 


92  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

by  the  London  Times  and  other  English  news- 
papers. For  years  England  gave  encouragement 
and  patronage  to  a  burlesque  monarchy  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  Nicaragua,  and  recently  exacted  a 
heavy  fine  from  that  republic,  ostensibly  for  injury 
to  British  subjects,  but  really  as  a  punishment  for 
extending  Nicaraguan  authority  over  England's 
proteges  on  the  Mosquito  coast.  England's  en- 
croachment on  Venezuela  is  at  present  under  con- 
sideration by  the  American  Government.  The 
Monroe  doctrine  stands  for  a  principle  as  vital  to 
the  welfare  of  the  American  people  and  of  the 
American  continent  to-day  as  when  it  was  first 
proclaimed  in  the  face  of  the  conquerors  of 
Napoleon. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  95 


PART  III. 
THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE. 

ANTAGONISM  BETWEEN  NORTH  AND  SOWTH. 

While  the  slavery  issue  is  generally  regarded  as 
the  chief  cause  of  the  antagonism  between  North 
and  South  which  resulted  in  the  greatest  of  modern 
wars,  yet  that  antagonism  appears  to  have  existed, 
of  course  in  a  less  embittered  form,  even  before 
the  Revolution.  The  Puritans  of  New  England 
took  a  different  side  from  the  planters  of  Virginia 
in  the  struggle  between  Cavaliers  and  Roundheads, 
and  the  social,  religious  and  political  distinctions 
which  existed  between  the  two  classes  in  England 
did  not  lose  any  of  their  acerbity  in  America.  The 
two  sections  made  common  cause  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, but  even  during  that  struggle  mutual  jealousy 
and  dislike  occasionally  cropped  out.  General 
Washington,  when  in  command  at  Boston,  was  ac- 
cused by  the  members  of  the  General  Court  of 
being  cold  in  his  manner  toward  them,  and  as 
Washington  denied  the  charge  of  incivility,  it 
seems  plain  that  the  New  England  legislators  must 
have  had  their  imaginations  stimulated  by  distrust. 
Count  Axel  Fersen,  the  distinguished  Swedish  no- 
bleman who  was  attached  to  the  American  army 
during  the  Revolution,  and  who  may  be  regarded 
as  an  impartial  witness,  made  some  excursions  ia 
Virginia  after  the  capture  of  Yorktown,  and  en- 
tered the  following  observations  in  his  memoirs : 
"All  the  traders  here  are  regarded  as  inferior  to 
the  land  owners,  who  say  that  the  former  are  not 
gentlemen,  and  will  not  associate  with  them.  They 
hold  aristocratic  principles,  and  when  one  sees 
them,  one  can  hardly  understand  how  they  have 


94  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

come  to  join  the  general  confederation  and  accept 
a  government  founded  upon  conditions  of  absolute 
equality.  But  the  same  spirit  which  has  led  them 
to  throw  off  the  English  yoke  might  well  urge 
the*n  on  to  other  measures,  and  I  should  not  be 
surprised  to  see  Virginia,  when  peace  comes,  de- 
tach itself  from  the  other  States."  Thus  Count 
Ferseu  foretold  secession  even  before  independence 
had  been  achieved. 


BEGINNING  OF  NEGRO  SLAVERY. 

Negro  slavery  had  been  introduced  into  the  West 
India  Islands  long  before  the  Dutch  ship,  in  1619, 
sailed  up  the  James  River  and  landed  twenty  Afri- 
cans. The  fact  should  be  noted  that,  two  years 
after  this  event,  cotton-seed  was,  for  the  first  time, 
planted  at  the  South,  for  the  growth  of  slavery  and 
the  culture  of  the  cotton  plant  were  closely  con- 
nected. Tobacco  was  already  (in  1621)  very  ex- 
tensively grown,  and  was  then  produced  entirely 
by  slave  labor.  For  several  years,  only  a  few 
cargoes  of  negroes  were  brought  to  the  colonies, 
and  these  came  in  Dutch  ships;  but,  encouraged 
by  the  English,  companies  for  carrying  on  the 
trade  were  formed,  and  even  ships  built  and  owned 
in  New  England  were  engaged  in  the  business.  In 
the  course  of  time  every  one  of  the  thirteen  col- 
onies had  slaves.  Some  of  the  colonies  remon- 
strated against  the  trade ;  but  what  could  this  avail 
so  long  as  the  English  Government  favored  the 
trade,  and  the  king  himself  profited  by  the  gains  ? 
In  1750  there  were  about  two  thousand  slaves  in 
Massachusetts ;  in  New  York  city  about  a  sixth  of 
the  population  were  slaves  ;  in  the  tobacco-grow- 
ing colonies — Maryland,  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina— a  third  were  slaves ;  in  South  Carolina, 
where  rice  was  the  principal  production,  there 
were  more  slaves  than  free  persons. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  95 

The  Continental  Congress,  after  the  adoption  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  resolved  that  no 
more  slaves  should  be  imported  ;  but  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  which  went  into  opera- 
tion thirteen  years  later,  permitted  such  impor- 
tation until  the  year  1808.  Thenceforth  no  more 
slaves  could  be  brought  into  the  country.  Previous 
to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  Congress  passed 
an  act  which  is  commonly  known  as  the  "Ordi- 
nance of  1787."  This  prohibited  slavery  in  all  the 
territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River.  Massachu- 
setts was  the  first  State  to  abolish  slavery ;  then 
the  other  Northern  States,  one  after  another,  most 
of  them  by  a  system  of  gradual  emancipation, 
followed  the  example.  Though  no  more  slaves 
were  brought  to  the  country,  slaves  continued  to  be 
bought  and  sold  at  the  South  as  before. 

S'ave-labor  at  the  North  was  not  profitable,  owing 
to  the  cold  climate,  which  did  not  agree  with  the 
African  as  well  as  the  sunny  temperature  of  the 
South.  Yet  slavery  could  never  have  flourished 
in  the  South  but  for  the  cotton-gin.  The  planta- 
tions were  languishing  and  cotton  could  be  culti- 
vated only  in  small  quantities,  because  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  separate  the  fibre  from  the  seed.  At  this 
time,  Eli  Whitney,  of  Massachusetts,  went  to 
Georgia  and  invented  the  cotton-gin.  The  diffi- 
culty of  separating  the  cotton  from  the  seed  was 
removed.  The  invention  set  the  whole  South  in 
motion.  Not  a  pound  of  cotton  had  been  exported 
from  the  United  States  in  1792.  In  1793,  the  gin 
was  invented.  In  1794  one  million  five  hundred 
thousand  pounds  of  cotton  were  sent  to  Europe, 
and  slave-labor  was  immediately  in  demand. 


THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE. 

The  difference  between  the  two  sections  became 
more  clearly  defined,  as  slavery  disappeared  from 


If. 


96  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  North  and  increased  in  the  South.  When 
Missouri  applied  for  admission  into  the  Union  it 
was  proposed  in  Congress  to  prohibit  the  introduc- 
tion of  slavery  into  the  new  State.  This  had  the 
effect  of  arraying  the  South  against  the  North — the 
slave-holding  against  the  non  slave  holding  States 
— and  the  whole  subject  of  slavery  became  an  ex- 
citing topic  of  debate  throughout  the  country. 
The  question  was  disposed  of  by  a  compromise 
which  tolerated  slavery  in  Missouri,  but  otherwise 
irohibited  it  in  all  the  territory  of  the  United 
itates,  north  and  west  of  the  northern  limits  of 
Arkansas.  The  section  of  the  bill  containing  the 
compromise  was  as  follows  : 

SEC.  8.  That  in  all  the  territory  ceded  by  France  to  the 
United  States  under  the  name  of  Louisiana,  which  lies 
north  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  north  latU 
tude,  not  included  within  the  limits  of  the  State  contem- 
plated by  this  act,  slavery  and  involuntary  servitude, 
otherwise  than  in  the  punishment  of  crimes,  whereof  the 
parties  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  be  and  is 
kereby  forever  prohibited ;  provided  always,  that  any  per- 
son escaping  into  the  same,  from  whom  labor  or  service  is 
lawfully  claimed,  in  any  state  or  territory  of  the  United 
States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully  reclaimed  and  con- 
veyed to  the  person  claiming  his  or  her  labor  or  service  as 
aforesaid. 


THE  WII,MOT  PROVISO. 

This  agreement,  the  "Missouri  Compromise," 
was  observed  for  a  third  of  a  century  ;  still  the 
slavery  question  cropped  out  from  time  to  time, 
"abolition  societies"  became  numerous,  and  when 
Texas,  a  slave  State  and  a  former  province  of 
Mexico,  asked  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union,  the 
application,  though  stoutly  resisted  by  most  of  the 
Northern  members  of  Congress,  was  finally 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  97 

granted.  The  annexation  of  Texas  led  to  a  war 
with  Mexico,  and  this  resulted  in  the  cession  to 
the  United  States  of  a  large  part  of  the  Mexican 
territory.  As  slavery  in  Mexico  had  been  nomi- 
nally abolished  more  than  twenty  years,  the  terri- 
tory thus  acquired  was  "free  soil."  I  say  "  nomi- 
nally abolished,"  for  serfdom  in  the  form  of 
peonage  survived  in  Mexico,  and  to-day  the  condi- 
tion of  the  lower  class  of  agriculturists  in  that 
country  is  but  little  removed  from  bondage  to  the 
proprietors  of  the  soil.  In  anticipation  of  the 
acquisition,  Mr.  David  Wilmot,  of  Pennsylvania, 
for  himself  and  other  members  of  Congress  from 
the  free  States,  offered  an  amendment  to  the  bill 
providing  for  the  purchase  of  Mexican  territory  to 
the  effect  "that  as  an  express  and  fundamental 
condition  to  the  acquisition  of  any  territory  from 
the  Republic  of  Mexico  by  the  United  States, 


passed  the  House,  but  not  the  Senate. 

Though  the  "Wilmot  proviso"  did  not  meet 
with  complete  success  in  Congress,  it  became  the 
foundation-stone  of  the  "Free  Soilers,"  whose 
party  cry  in  1848,  with  ex-President  Van  Buren  as 
their  Presidential  candidate,  was  "  Free  Soil,  Free 
Speech,  Free  Labor,  and  Free  Men."  The  Free 
Soilers  were  defeated,  but  their  cause  survived,  and 
took  on  fresh  life  as  the  opposition  to  slavery  grew. 
The  very  measures  adopted  to  make  slavery  im- 
pregnable became  factors  in  its  overthrow.  Cali- 
fornia, a  part  of  the  territory  acquired  from  Mex- 
ico, soon  had  a  large  population,  and  the  people, 
who  were  generally  opposed  to  slavery,  sought  ad- 
mission to  the  Union.  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South 
Carolina,  and  other  champions  of  slavery,  resisted 
the  application,  and  a  violent  controversy  followed, 
wnich  ended  in  an  agreement  known  as  the 
"  Compromise  of  1850." 


98  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

COMPROMISE  OF  1850. 

Under  this  compromise  California  was  admitted 
as  a  free  State,  the  slave  trade — but  not  slavery — 
was  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  enacted.  As  this  measure 
was  one  of  the  chief  agencies  in  exciting  the  North 
against  slavery,  and  is  often  alluded  to,  even  to 
this  day,  in  political  discussions,  it  is  here  given  in 
full:  ' 


THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE  LA.W. 

An  Act  to  amend,  and  supplementary  to,  the  Act  entitled 
"An  Act  i expecting  fugitives  front  Justice,  and  per- 
sons escaping  f>om  the  Service  cf  their  Masters" 
approved  ttbruary  12,  Jfyj. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  cf  Representa- 
tives of  the  Unit<  d  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, That  the  persons  who  have  been,  or  may  hereafter 
be,  appointed  Commissioners,  in  virtue  of  any  Act  of 
Congress,  by  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States,  and 
who,  in  consequence  of  such  appointment,  are  authorized 
to  exercise  the  powers  that  any  jus' ice  of  the  peace,  or 
other  magistrate  of  any  of  the  United  States,  may  exercise 
in  respect  to  offenders  for  any  crime  or  offence  against 
the  United  States,  by  arresting,  imprisoning,  or  bailing 
the  same,  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  thirty-third  section 
of  the  act  of  the  twenty-fourth  of  September,  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty-nine,  entitled  "  An  Act  to  establish 
the  judicial  courts  of  the  United  States,"  shall  be,  and 
are  hereby,  authorized  and  required  to  exercise  and  dis- 
charge all  the  powers  and  duties  conferred  by  this  Act. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  Superior  Court  of  each  organized 
territory  of  the  United  Slates  shall  have  the  same  power 
to  appoint  Commissioners  to  take  acknowledgments  of 
kail  and  affidavits,  and  to  take  depositions  of  witnesses 
in  civil  causes,  which  is  now  possessed  by  the  Circuit 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  99 

Court  of  Ihe  United  States;  and  all  Commissioners  who 
shall  hereafter  be  appointed  for  such  purposes  by  the 
Superior  Court  of  any  organized  territory  of  ihe  United 
States,  shall  possess  all  the  powers,  and  exercise  all  the 
duties,  conferred  by  law  upon  the  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  Slates  for 
similar  purposes,  and  shall  moreover  exercise  and  dis- 
charge all  ihe  powers  and  duties  conferred  by  this  Act. 

ShC.  3.  That  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States,, 
and  the  Superior  Cjurts  of  each  organized  territory  of  the 
United  States  shall  from  time  to  time  charge  the  number 
of  Commissioners  with  a  view  to  afford  reasonable  facili- 
ties to  reclaim  fugitives  from  labor,  and  to  the  prompt 
discharge  of  the  duties  imposed  by  this  Act. 

SEC.  4.  That  the  Commissioners  above  named  shall 
have  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  Judges  of  the  Circuit 
and  District  Courts  of  the  United  States,  in  their  respec- 
tive circuits  and  districts  within  the  several  States,  and 
the  Judges  of  the  Superior  Courts  of  the  territories 
severally  and  collectively, in  term-time  and  vacation;  and 
shall  grant  certificates  to  such  claimants,  upon  satisfactory 
proof  being  made,  with  authority  to  take  and  remove 
such  fugitives  from  service  or  labor,  under  the  restrictions 
herein  contained,  to  the  state  or  territory  from  which 
such  persons  may  have  escaped  or  fled. 

SEC.  5.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  marshals  and 
deputy  marshals  to  obey  and  execute  all  warrants  and 
precepts  issued  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  when  to 
them  directed;  and  should  any  marshal  or  deputy  mar- 
shal refuse  to  receive  such  warrant,  or  other  process,, 
when  tendered,  or  to  use  all  proper  means  diligently  to 
execute  the  same,  he  shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be  fined 
in  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  to  the  use  of  suck 
claimant,  on  the  motion  of  such  claimant,  by  the  Circuit 
or  District  Court  for  the  district  of  such  marshal ;  and 
after  arrest  of  such  fugitive,  by  such  marshal  or  his 
deputy,  or  whilst  at  any  time  in  his  custody,  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  should  such  fugitive  escape,  whether 
with  or  without  the  assent  of  such  marshal  or  his  deputy,, 
such  marshal  shall  be  liable,  on  his  official  bond,  to  be: 


ioo  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

prosecuted  for  the  benefit  of  such  claimant,  for  the  full 
value  of  the  service  or  labor  of  said  fugitive  in  the  state, 
territory,  or  district  whence  he  escaped;  and  the  better  te 
enable  said  Commissioners,  when  thus  appointed,  to 
execute  their  duties  faithfully  and  efficiently,  in  conformity 
with  the  requirements  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  this  Act,  they  are  hereby  authorized  and 
empowered,  within  their  counties  respectively,  to  appoint, 
in  writing  under  their  hands,  any  one  or  more  suitable 
persons,  from  time  to  time,  to  execute  all  such  warrants 
and  other  process  as  may  be  issued  by  them  in  the  lawful 
performance  of  their  respective  duties ;  with  authority  to 
such  Commissioners,  or  the  persons  to  be  appointed  by 
them,  to  execute  process  as  aforesaid,  to  summon  and 
call  to  their  aid  the  bystanders,  or  posse  comitatus  of  the 
proper  county,  when  necessary  to  insure  a  faithful  obser- 
vance of  the  clause  of  the  Constitution  referred  to,  in 
conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  act;  and  all  good 
citizens  are  commanded  to  aid  and  assist  in  the  prompt 
and  efficient  execution  of  this  law,  whenever  their  services 
may  be  required,  as  aforesaid,  for  that  purpose  ;  and  said 
warrants  shall  run,  and  be  executed  by  said  officers,  any- 
where in  the  state  within  which  they  are  issued. 

SEC.  6.  That  when  a  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in 
any  state  or  territory  of  the  United  States,  has  heretofore 
or  shall  hereafter  escape  into  another  state  or  territory  of 
the  United  States,  the  person  or  persons  to  whom  such 
service  or  labor  may  be  due,  or  his,  her  or  their  agent  or 
attorney,  duly  authorized  by  power  of  attorney,  in  writing 
acknowledged  and  certified  under  the  seal  of  some  legal 
officer  or  Court  of  the  state  or  territory  in  which  the  same 
may  be  executed,  may  pursue  and  reclaim  such  fugitive 
person,  either  by  procuring  a  warrant  from  some  one  of 
the  Courts,  Judges,  or  Commissioners  aforesaid,  of  the 
proper  circuit,  district,  or  county,  for  the  apprehension  of 
such  fugitive  from  service  or  labor,  or  by  seizing  and 
arresting  such  fugitive  where  the  same  can  be  done 
without  process,  and  by  taking  or  causing  such  person  to 
be  taken  forthwith  before  such  Court,  Judge  or  Com- 
missioner, whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  hear  and  determine 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  101 

the  case  of  such  claimant  in  a  summary  manner ;  and 
upon  satisfactory  proof  being  made,  by  deposition  or 
affidavit,  in  writing,  to  be  taken,  and  certified  by  such 
Court,  Judge  or  Commissioner,  or  by  other  satisfactory 
testimony,  duly  taken  and  certified  by  some  Court,  Magis- 
trate, Justice  of  the  Peace,  or  other  legal  officer  authorized 
to  administer  an  oath  and  take  depositions  under  the 
laws  of  the  state  or  territory  from  which  such  person 
owing  service  or  labor  may  have  escaped,  with  a  certifi- 
cate of  such  magistracy,  or  other  authority  as  aforesaid, 
with  the  seal  of  the  proper  Court  or  officer  thereto 
attached,  which  seal  shall  be  sufficient  to  establish  the 
competency  of  the  proof,  and  with  proof,  also  by  affidavit, 
of  the  identity  of  the  person  whose  service  or  labor  is 
claimed  to  be  due  as  aforesaid,  that  the  person  so  arrested 
does  in  fact  owe  service  or  labor  to  the  person  or  persons 
claiming  him  or  her,  in  the  state  or  territory  from  which 
such  fugitive  may  have  escaped  as  aforesaid,  and  that 
said  person  escaped,  to  make  out  and  deliver  to  said 
claimant,  his  or  her  agent  or  attorney,  a  certificate  setting 
forth  the  substantial  facts  as  to  the  service  or  labor  due 
from  such  fugitive  to  the  claimant,  and  of  his  or  her 
escape  from  the  state  or  territory  in  which  such  service  or 
labor  was  due  to  the  state  or  territory  in  which  he  or  she 
was  arrested,  with  authority  to  such  claimant,  or  his  or 
her  agent  or  attorney,  to  use  such  reasonable  force  and 
restraint  as  may  be  necessary,  under  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,  to  take  and  remove  such  fugitive  person  back 
to  the  state  or  territory  whence  he  or  she  may  have 
escaped  as  aforesaid.  In  no  trial  or  hearing  under  this 
Act  shall  the  testimony  of  such  alleged  fugitive  be  ad- 
mitted in  evidence ;  and  the  certificates  in  this  and  the 
first  [fourth]  section  mentioned,  shall  be  conclusive  of 
the  right  of  the  person  or  persons  in  whose  favor  granted, 
to  remove  such  fugitive  to  the  state  or  territory  from 
which  he  escaped,  and  shall  prevent  all  molestation  of 
such  person  or  persons  by  any  process  issued  by  any 
Court,  Judge,  Magistrate,  or  other  person  whomsoever. 

SEC,  7.  That  any  person  who  shall   knowingly  and 
willingly  obstruct,  hinder,  or  prevent  such  claimant,  his 


102  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

agent  or  attorney,  or  any  person  or  persons  lawfully 
assisting  him,  her  or  them,  from  arresting  such  a  fugitive 
from  service  or  labor,  either  \viih  or  without  process  as 
aforesaid,  cr  shall  rescue  or  attempt  to  rescue  such 
fugitive  from  service  or  labor,  from  the  custody  of  such 
claimant,  his  or  her  agent  or  attorney,  or  other  person  or 
persons  lawfully  assisting  as  aforesaid,  when  so  arrested 
pursuant  to  the  authority  herein  given  anddeclared,  or  shall 
aid,  abet,  or  assist  such  person  so  owing  service  or  labor 
as  aforesaid,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  escape  from  such 
claimant,  his  agent  or  attorney,  or  other  person  or  persons 
legally  authorized  as  aforesaid ;  or  shall  harbor  or  conceal 
such  fugutive  so  as  to  prevent  the  discovery  and  arrest  of 
such  person,  after  notice  or  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
such  person  was  a  fugitive  from  service  or  labor  as 
aforesaid,  shall,  for  either  of  said  offences,  be  subject  to  a 
fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  and  imprison- 
ment not  exceeding  six  months,  by  indictment  and  con- 
viction  before  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  district  in  which  such  offence  may  have  been  commit- 
ted, or  before  the  proper  court  of  criminal  jurisdiction,  if 
committed  within  any  one  of  the  organized  territories  of 
the  United  States,  and  shall  moreover  forfeit  and  pav,  by 
•way  of  civil  damages  to  the  party  injured  by  such  illegal 
conduct,  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  for  each  fugitive 
so  lost  as  aforesaid,  to  be  recovered  by  action  of  debt  in 
any  of  the  District  or  Territorial  Courts  aforesaid,  within 
whose  jurisdiction  the  said  offence  may  have  been  com- 
mitted. 

SEC.  8.  That  the  marshals,  their  deputies,  and  the 
clerks  of  the  said  District  and  Territorial  Courts,  shall  be 
paid  for  their  services  the  like  fees  as  may  be  allowed  to 
them  for  similar  services  in  other  cases;  and  where  such 
services  are  rendered  exclusively  in  the  arrest,  custody, 
and  delivery  of  the  fugitive  to  the  claimant,  his  or  her 
agent  or  attorney,  or  where  such  supposed  fugitive  may 
be  discharged  out  of  custody  for  the  want  ot  sufficient 
proof  as  aforesaid,  then  such  fees  are  to  be  paid  in  the 
whole  by  such  claimant,  his  agent  or  attorney ;  and  in  all 
cases  where  the  proceedings  are  before  a  Commissioner, 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  103 

he  shall  be  entitled  to  a  fee  of  ten  dollars  in  full  for  his 
service-;  in  each  case,  upon  the  delivery  of  the  said  cer- 
tificate to  the  claimant,  his  or  her  agent  or  attorney  ;  or  a 
fee  of  five  dollars  in  cases  where  the  proof  shall  not,  in 
the  opinion  of  such  Commissioner,  warrant  such  certificate 
and  delivery,  inclusive  of  all  services  incident  to  such 
arrest  and  examination,  to  be  paid  in  either  case  by  the 
claimant,  his  or  her  agent  or  attorney.  The  person  or 
persons  authorized  to  execute  the  process  to  be  issued  by 
such  Commissioner  for  the  arrest  and  detention  of  fugi- 
tives from  service  or  labor  as  aforesaid,  shall  also  be  en- 
titled to  a  fee  of  five  dollars  each,  for  each  person  he  or 
they  may  arrest  and  take  before  any  such  Commissioner, 
as  aforesaid,  at  the  instance  and  request  of  such  claimant, 
with  such  other  fees  as  may  be  deemed  reasonable  by  such 
Commissioner  for  such  other  additional  services  as  may  be 
necessarily  performed  by  him  or  them  ;  such  as  attending 
at  the  examination,  keeping  the  fugitive  in  custody,  and 
providing  him  with  food  and  lodging  during  his  deten- 
tion, and  until  the  final  determination  ol  such  Com- 
missioner; and,  in  general,  for  performing  such  other 
duties  as  may  be  required  by  such  claimant,  his  or  her 
attorney  or  agent,  or  Commissioner  in  the  premises.  Such 
fees  to  be  made  up  in  conformity  with  the  fees  usually 
charged  by  the  officers  of  the  courts  of  justice  within  the 
proper  district  or  county,  as  near  as  may  be  practicable, 
and  paid  by  such  claimants,  their  agents  or  attorneys, 
whether  such  supposed  fugitives  from  service  or  labor  be 
ordered  to  be  delivered  to  such  claimants  by  the  final 
determination  of  such  Commissioner  or  not. 

SEC.  9.  That,  upon  affidavit  made  by  the  claimant  of 
such  fugitive,  his  agent  or  attorney,  after  such  certificate 
has  been  issued,  that  he  has  »eason  to  apprehend  that 
such  fugitive  will  be  rescued  by  force  from  his  or  her 
possession  before  he  can  be  taken  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  State  in  which  the  arrest  is  made,  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  officer  making  the  arrest  to  retain  such  fugitive  in 
his  custody,  and  to  remove  him  to  the  State  whence  he 
fled,  and  there  to  deliver  him  to  said  claimant,  his  agent 
or  attorney.  And  to  this  end  the  officer  aforesaid  is  hereby 


104  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

authorized  and  required  to  employ  so  many  persons  as  he 
may  deem  necessary  to  overcome  such  force,  and  to  retain 
them  in  his  service  so  long  as  circumstances  may  require. 
The  said  officer  and  his  assistants  while  so  employed  to 
receive  the  same  compensation,  and  to  be  allowed  the 
same  expenses  as  are  now  allowed  by  law  for  transporta- 
tion of  criminals,  to  be  certified  by  the  judge  of  the  dis- 
trict within  which  the  arrest  is  made,  and  paid  out  of  the 
treasury  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  10.  That  when  any  person  held  to  service  or 
labor  in  any  State  or  Territory,  or  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, shall  escape  therefrom,  the  party  to  whom  such  ser- 
vice or  labor  may  be  due,  his,  her,  or  their  agent  or 
attorney,  may  apply  to  any  court  of  record  therein,  or 
judge  thereof  in  vacation,  and  make  satisfactory  proof  to 
such  court  or  judge  in  vacation,  of  the  escape  aforesaid, 
and  that  the  person  escaping  owed  service  or  labor  to 
such  party.  Whereupon  the  court  shall  cause  a  record  to 
be  made  of  the  matters  so  proved,  and  also  a  general 
description  of  the  person  so  escaping,  with  such  conveni- 
ent certainty  as  may  be;  and  a  transcript  of  such  record, 
authenticated  by  the  attestation  of  the  clerk  and  of  the 
seal  of  the  said  court,  being  produced  in  any  other  State, 
Territory  or  district  in  which  the  person  so  escaping  may 
be  found,  and  being  exhibited  to  any  Judge,  Commis- 
sioner, or  other  officer  authorized  by  the  law  of  the  United 
States  to  cause  persons  escaping  from  service  or  labor  to 
be  delivered  up,  shall  be  held  and  taken  to  be  full 
and  conclusive  evidence  of  the  fact  of  the  escape,  and 
that  the  service  or  labor  of  the  person  escaping  is  due  to 
the  party  in  such  record  mentioned.  And  upon  the  pro- 
duction by  the  said  party  of  other  and  further  evidence 
if  necessary,  either  oral  or  by  affidavit,  in  addition  to 
what  is  contained  in  the  said  record  of  the  identity  of  the 
person  escaping,  he  or  she  shall  be  delivered  up  to  the 
claimant.  And  the  said  Court,  Commissioner,  Judge,  or 
other  person  authorized  by  this  Act  to  grant  certificates  to 
claimants  of  fugitives,  shall,  upon  the  production  of  the 
record  and  other  evidences  aforesaid,  grant  to  such  claim- 
ant a  certificate  of  his  right  to  take  any  such  person  iden- 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  105 

tified  and  proved  to  be  owing  service  or  labor  as  aforesaid, 
which  shall  authorize  such  claimant  to  seize  or  arrest  and 
transport  such  person  to  the  State  or  Territory  from  which 
he  escaped:  Provided,  That  nothing  herein  contained 
shall  be  construed  as  requiring  the  production  of  a  tran- 
script of  such  record  as  evidence  as  aforesaid.  But  in  its 
absence  the  claim  shall  be  heard  and  determined  apon 
other  satisfactory  proofs,  competent  in  law. 
Approved  September  18,  1850. 

Instead  of  quieting  the  controversy,  the  "  Fugi- 
tive Slave  L,aw"  only  made  it  more  bitter.  Four 
years  later  the  slavery  question  was  revived  in 
Congress  by  the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill,  the  slave-holding  States  gaining  once  more 
what,  for  the  time  being,  seemed  an  advantage. 


KANSAS-NEBRASKA  ACT  OF  1854. 

In  the  Act  of  1854,  to  organize  the  Territories  of 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  the  so-called  Missouri  Com- 
promise was  declared  null  and  void,  as  follows  : 

SECTION  14.  *  *  *  That  the  Constitution,  and  all  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  which  are  not  locally  inapplica- 
ble, shall  have  the  same  force  and  effect  within  the  said 
territory  of  Nebraska  as  elsewhere  within  the  United 
States,  except  the  eighth  section  of  the  Act  preparatory 
to  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union,  approved 
March  sixth,  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty,  which,  being 
inconsistent  with  the  principle  of  non-intervention  by 
Congress  with  slavery  in  the  States  and  Territories,  as 
recognized  by  the  legislation  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty,  commonly  called  the  Compromise  Measures,  is 
hereby  declared  inoperative  and  void ;  it  being  the  true 
intent  and  meaning  of  this  Act  not  to  legislate  slavery 
into  any  Territory  or  State,  nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom, 
but  to  leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and 
regulate  their  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way, 


106  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States: 
Provided,  That  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  con- 
strued to  revive  or  put  in  force  any  law  or  regulatiom 
which  may  have  existed  prior  to  the  Act  of  March  sixth, 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty,  either  protecting,  estab- 
lishing, prohibiting  or  abolishing  slavery. 

This  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  led  to 
tremendous  excitement  throughout  the  North. 
The  old  political  organizations  broke  up,  and  the 
Republican  party  came  into  existence,  as  successor 
to  the  Free  Soil  party.  The  Democrats  and  Whigs 
had  been  divided  within  their  respective  party 
lines  on  the  slavery  issue  ;  but  now  the  Democrats 
opposed  to  slavery  abandoned  their  party  and 
joined  with  the  great  mass  of  the  Whigs  in  form- 
ing the  Republican  party  which  took  the  field  in 
1856,  with  General  John  C.  Fremont,  of  California, 
as  its  standard-bearer  for  President  James  Buch- 
anan, of  Pennsylvania,  was  nominated  by  the 
Democrats.  In  the  election  which  followed,  every 
Southern  State  voted  for  Buchanan,  except  Mary- 
land, which  voted  for  Millard  Fillmore,  the  candi- 
date of  the  ephemeral  "American"  organization. 
Buchanan  carried  in  the  North  his  own  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  States  of  New  Jersey, 
Indiana,  Illinois  and  California.  Eleven  Northern 
States  voted  for  Fremont.  The  popular  vote  was  : 
for  Buchanan,  1,838,169;  Fremont,  1,341,264  ;  Fill- 
more,  874,534. 

BUCHANAN'S  HOPE — IVINCOLN'S  PROPHECY. 

In  his  inaugural  address  President  Buchanan  ex- 
pressed the  hope  ' '  that  the  long  agitation  of  the 
slavery  question  was  approaching  its  end."  Far 
more  prophetic  was  the  declaration  of  Abraham 
X,incoln  in  joint  debate  with  Senator  Douglas  in 
Illinois — "  I  believe  this  government  cannot  endure 
permanently  half  slave,  half  free.  I  do  not  expect 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  107 

the  Union  to  be  dissolved  ;  I  do  not  expect  the 
house  to  fall ;  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be 
divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the 
other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest 
the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the 
public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the 
course  of  ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advocates  will 
push  it  forward  till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in 
all  the  States,  old  as  well  as  new,  North  as  well  as 
South."  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  Presi- 
dent Buchanan's  term  the  struggle  between  free- 
dom and  slavery  for  the  control  of  the  territories 
continued.  There  was  bloodshed  in  Kansas,  and 
hot  and  angry  debates  in  Congress.  In  1860  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  nominated  for  President  by  the  Repub- 
lican Convention  on  a  platform  of  opposition  to 
slavery  extension.  The  Democratic  Convention 
split  in  twain  after  a  prolonged  and  bitter  contro- 
versy at  Charleston,  S.  C.  The  Southern  wing  of 
the  party  nominated  John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  the  Northern  wing  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 
The  Republicans  marched  to  an  easy  and  certain 
triumph.  Lincoln  carried  every  free  State  with  the 
exception  of  New  Jersey  which  divided  her  elec- 
toral votes,  Lincoln  obtaining  four.  Breckinridge 
carried  every  slave  State  save  four — Virginia,  Ken- 
tucky, and  Maryland  voting  for  John  Bell,  Con- 
servative Unionist,  and  Missouri  for  Douglas. 

Secession  followed  in  eleven  of  the  Southern 
States.  While  on  the  part  of  the  North  the  vrar 
was  carried  on  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union 
and  not  for  the  suppression  of  slavery,  yet  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  was  a  foregone  conclu- 
sion from  the  first,  should  the  North  succeed.  The 
Emancipation  Proclamation  sent  forth  by  President 
Lincoln  on  New  Year's  Day,  1863,  was  a  war 
measure,  issued  in  accordance  with  the  President's 
duty  and  authority  as  commander-in-chief,  to 
weaken  by  every  means  the  forces  of  the  enemy. 
In  effect  it  was  the  greatest  work  of  constitutional 


io8  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

reform  that  ever  emanated  from  the  hand  of  man. 
It  had  force,  however,  only  where  the  Union  armies 
obtained  control  of  territory  previously  held  by  the 
Confederates,  and  was  therefore  not  in  complete 
effect  until  the  close  of  the  war.  The  Thirteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  riveted  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  Con- 
stitution finally  and  forever. 
Following  is  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  : 

PROCLAMATION. 

WHEREAS,  On  the  22d  day  of  September,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1862,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  containing  among  other 
things  the  following,  to  wit : 

That  on  the  first  day  of  January  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1863,  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  any  State,  or  any 
designated  part  of  a  State,  the  people  whereof  shall  then 
be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  shall  be  thence- 
forward and  forever  free,  and  the  executive  government 
of  the  United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval 
authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom 
of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress  such 
persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts  they  may  make  for 
their  actual  freedom  : 

That  the  executive  will,  on  the  1st  day  of  January  afore- 
said, by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and  parts  of 
States,  if  any,  in  which  the  people  thereof  respectively 
shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  and 
the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall  on  that 
day  be  in  good  faith  represented  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elections 
wherein  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  such  State 
shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the  absence  of  strong 
countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence 
that  such  State  and  the  people  thereof  are  not  then  in  re- 
bellion against  the  United  States  : 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  109 

«ommander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United 
States,  in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against  the  au- 
thority and  government  of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  fit 
and  necessary  war-measure  for  repressing  said  rebellion, 
do,  on  this  1st  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1863, 
and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly  pro- 
claim for  the  lull  period  of  100  days  from  the  day  of  the 
first  above-mentioned  order,  and  designate  as  the  States 
and  parts  of  States  wherein  the  people  thereof  respec- 
tively are  this  day  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 
the  following,  to  wit  :  Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana, 
except  the  parishes  of  St.  Bernard,  Plaquemines,  Jeffer- 
son, St.  John,  St.  Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  Assump- 
tion, Terre  Bonne,  Lafourche,  St.  Mary,  St.  Martin  and 
Orleans,  including  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  Mississippi, 
Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  Virginia,  except  the  48  counties  designated  as 
West  Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of  Berkeley, 
Accomac,  Norihampton,  Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess 
Ann  and  Norfolk,  including  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and 
Portsmouth,  and  which  excepted  parts  are,  for  the  present, 
left  precisely  as  if  this  proclamation  were  not  issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  aforesaid, 
I  do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves 
within  said  designated  States  and  parts  of  States  are,  and 
henceforward  shall  be,  free  ;  and  that  the  executive  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  including  the  military  and 
naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the 
freedom  of  said  persons. 

And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be 
free,  to  abstain  from  all  violence  unless  in  necessary  self- 
defence,  and  I  recommend  to  them  that  in  all  cases,  when 
allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 

And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such 
persons  of  suitable  condition  will  be  received  into  the 
armed  service  of  the  United  States  to  garrison  forts,  posi- 
tions, stations,  and  other  places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all 
sorts  in  said  service. 

And  upon  this,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of 
justice,  warranted  by  the  constitution,  upon  military 


no  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind 
and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  Slates  to  be  affixed. 

[L.  s.]  Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  1st  day  of 
January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1863,  and  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  the  8yth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  the  President : 

WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS. 


PART  IV. 
THE  TARIFF  ISSUE. 

As  OLD  AS  THE  UNION. 

The  tariff  issue  has  been  before  the  America* 
people  ever  since  the  foundation  of  the  Union. 
The  volumes  written  for  and  against  a  tariff  for 
protection  would  fill  a  vast  library,  and  both  sides 
remain  just  as  convinced  of  the  soundness  of  their 
respective  arguments  as  when  the  controversy 
began  at  the  first  session  of  Congress  under  the 
Constitution.  It  has  almost  ceased  to  be  a  question 
of  the  encouragement  of  domestic  manufactures — 
which  have  mostly  grown  to  adult  proportions — 
and  is  now  a  question  of  the  exclusion  of  foreign 
manufactures  in  order  that  our  own  may  supply 
the  domestic  market.  The  present  sentiment  of 
the  country  is  almost  universally  favorable  to  a 
moderately  protective  tariff.  Public  opinion  in 
the  South  has,  in  this  respect,  changed  greatly 
since  the  South  began  to  manufacture  its  own  cot- 
ton into  cloth,  to  develop  its  mines,  and  subdue 
its  magnificent  water  power  to  the  service  of  in- 
dustry. The  American  people  are  not  in  favor  of 
a  tariff  so  high  as  to  make  the  American  manu- 
facturer independent  of  the  consumer's  rights  and 
interests. 

It  was  natural  that  the  South  should  have 
opposed  a  high  tariff  in  the  slave-labor  period. 
The  South  produced  raw  material,  on  which  no 
protection  was  given  or  desired,  and  was  sure  of  a 
market  for  that  material  in  Europe  as  well  as  the 
United  States.  The  South  wanted  to  buy  goods  as 
cheaply  as  possible  with  the  money  received  for 


112  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

cotton  and  tobacco,  and  the  tariff  interfered  with 
freedom  to  purchase  in  the  cheapest  market. 
Hence  the  indignation  expressed  by  certain  citizens 
of  South  Carolina  in  a  petition  to  their  Legislature, 
protesting  against  the  tariff  legislation  of  1828, 
and  praying  to  be  saved,  if  possible,  ' '  from  the 
conjoint  grasp  of  usurpation  and  poverty."  Hence 
the  attempt  of  South  Carolina  in  1832  to  nullify 
the  Tariff  Law,  and  President  Jackson's  message 
declaring  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States  must 
t>e  obeyed. 

While  the  South  regarded  the  protective  system 
as  a  grievance  and  a  burden,  the  North,  and 
especially  New  England,  supported  it  for  manifest 
reasons.  The  people  of  New  England  made  con- 
siderable wealth  in  commerce  before  losing  their 
commercial  precedence,  but,  notwithstanding  the 
fortunes  thus  accumulated,  New  England  would 
have  been  left  in  barren  plight  but  for  the  intro- 
duction and  establishment  of  manufactures.  Man- 
ufactures were  to  New  England  what  cotton  and 
slaves  were  to  the  South.  The  stony  valleys  were 

Elanted  with  factory  villages,  and  rivulets,  dammed 
y  great  embankments,  became  ponds  large 
enough  to  turn  the  wheels  of  many  a  busy  mill. 
The  New  England  and  other  Northern  manufac- 
turers strove  unceasingly  to  keep  up  protective 
duties  and  to  restrict  foreign  competition,  and, 
while  sometimes  subjected  to  low  tariff  rates,  they 
were  never  wholly  abandoned  by  the  national 
legislature. 

TARIFF  LEGISLATION. 

The  tariff  policy  of  Congress  before  the  late 
civil  war  was  unsettled  and  vacillating,  the  com- 
promise feature,  so  prominent  also  in  the  slavery 
issue,  being  ever  at  the  front  in  dealing  with  pro- 
tective duties.  The  dispute  over  the  tariff  of  1828- 
32  was  compromised  by  agreement  upon  a  bill 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  113 

introduced  by  Henry  Clay,  and  providing  for  a 
gradual  reduction  of  duties.  In  1842  another 
tariff  bill  was  passed,  conferring  substantial  pro- 
tection, but  in  1846  Congress  enacted  a  measure 
devoid  of  protective  features,  and  placing  the 
tariff  on  a  revenue  basis.  The  "Tariff  of  1857  " 
placed  duties  lower  than  they  had  been  at  any 
time  since  the  virtual  beginning  of  protection  after 
the  war  of  1812.  The  tariff  of  1857  was  not  in  any 
narrow  sense  a  partisan  measure.  The  Senators 
from  Massachusetts  voted  for  it  as  well  as  the  Sen- 
ators from  South  Carolina,  and  it  was  fondly 
hoped  by  leading  statesmen  of  both  the  Republican 
and  Democratic  parties  that  the  interests  of  the 
whole  country  would  be  harmonized  and  benefited 
by  the  change.  The  hope  proved  as  illusory  as  in 
the  case  of  slavery.  Importations  were  greatly 
stimulated  by  the  reduction  of  duties,  and  when  a 
disastrous  panic  swept  over  the  country  a  few 
months  later,  the  calamity  was  connected  in  the 
popular  mind  with  the  stride  back  toward  free- 
trade  conditions. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  civil  war,  the  principle  of 
protection  as  opposed  to  the  principle  of  free  trade 
had  been  the  cardinal  issue  in  tariff  discussions 
and  changes.  The  enormous  expenses  of  the  war 
made  it  necessary  to  raise  revenue  by  every  means 
which  the  Constitution  permitted,  and  the  "  Mor- 
rill  Tariff" — so  called  from  Senator  Lot  M.  Morrill, 
of  Maine— was  enacted,  adding  largely  to  the 
duties  on  certain,  imported  articles,  and  imposing 
duties  on  many  articles  that  were  before  exempt. 
For  the  time  being  the  South  was  out  of  the  con- 
troversy, and  New  England  had  her  own  way  in 
framing  this  tariff.  It  may  be  mentioned  here  that 
the  Constitution  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  pro- 
hibited the  imposition  of  any  duties  except  for 
revenue.  The  "  Morrill  Tariff"  and  other  supple- 
mentary measures  dealing  with  duties  on  imports 
gave  high  protection  to  the  leading  manufacturing 
industries  of  the  North. 


114  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

THE  TARIFF  AFTER  THE  WAR. 

Owing  to  the  continuous  demand  for  revenue  to 
meet  the  increased  expenses  of  the  Government, 
fulfill  the  obligations  of  the  war  and  maintain  the 
national  credit,  the  tariff  issue  was  in  suspense  until 
the  national  elections  of  1880.  The  South,  utterly 
prostrate  and  exhausted  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
was  in  the  mean  time  rebuilding  her  shattered 
homes  on  the  sure  foundation  of  free  labor  instead 
of  the  quicksand  of  slavery,  and  her  statesmen 
had  problems  to  deal  with  which  came  nearer  their 
hearthstones  than  that  of  the  tariff.  It  took  the 
South  at  least  fifteen  years  to  stand  forth  in  fresh 
vigor  and  full  consciousness  of  its  power  and  re- 
sponsibility as  a  section  of  the  Union,  and  this  re- 
covery of  the  South  was  contemporaneous  with  the 
recovery  of  the  nation  from  the  financial  burdens 
of  the  war.  Instead  of  the  question  being  how  to 
raise  revenue  for  national  needs,  the  question  was 
what  to  do  with  the  surplus  revenue.  The  tariff 
issue  was  again  forced  to  the  front,  therefore,  by 
the  logic  of  the  situation.  Southern  hostility  to 
protection  had  diminished  because  the  South  now 
•  needed  protection,  but  the  South,  as  a  section, 
supported  tariff  reduction  both  on  account  of  Dem- 
ocratic party  traditions,  and  because  the  Southern 
people  believed  the  benefits  of  the  tariff  to  be 
disproportionately  in  favor  of  Northern  manu- 
facturers. 


BECOMES  THE  LEADING  ISSUE. 

The  Republicans  elected  General  Garfield  in 
1880 on  a  platform  which  declared  for  maintaining 
a  scale  of  duties  that  would  continue  to  protect 
American  industries  against  foreign  competition. 
The  Democrats  pronounced  in  favor  of  a  tariff  for 
revenue  with  incidental  protection.  In  1882  Con- 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  115: 

gress  appointed  a  Commission  to  report  upon  the 
expediency  of  reducing  the  tariff  duties,  and  a  bill 
was  passed,  in  accordance  with  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  Commission,  making  certain  reduc- 
tions. The  national  contest  of  1884  was  fought 
chiefly  on  the  tariff  issue,  and  the  defeat  of  the 
Republicans  indicated  that  the  nation  was  prepared 
for  some  measure  of  reform.  Mr.  Cleveland's- 
message  of  December,  1887,  was  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  the  subject  of  the  tariff.  He  characterized 
the  existing  tariff  laws  as  "vicious,  inequitable 
and  illogical."  The  Democratic  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, in  accordance  with  the  suggestions  con- 
tained in  the  President's  Message,  passed  the 
"  Mills  Bill,"  removing  the  duty  on  wool,  and  in- 
tended to  reduce  the  revenue  by  fully  $150,000,000. 
The  Republican  Senate  offered  a  substitute  repeal- 
ing the  tax  on  tobacco  and  reducing  the  duty  on 
sugar  nearly  one-half,  the  estimated  reduction 
under  this  bill  being  about  $65,000,000.  In  the 
national  election  of  1888  the  Democrats  had  a 
majority  of  the  popular  vote,  but  a  minority  of  the 
Electoral  College,  and  the  Republicans,  notwith- 
standing their  victory,  concluded  that  the  demand 
for  a  revision  of  the  tariff  could  not  be  ignored. 
The  Fifty-second  Congress  therefore  enacted  the 
McKinley  Law,  which,  while  it  removed  the  duties 
on  sugar,  if  not  above  16  Dutch  standard,  and  on  a 
number  of  other  articles,  added  considerably  to- 
the  duties  on  woolen  manufactures,  cotton  and  silk 
goods,  tin  plates  and  various  other  articles  of  gen- 
eral use  by  consumers.  The  McKinley  Law  in  effect 
largely  raised,  instead  of  reducing,  the  tariff  rates- 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  shopping  public,  while 
the  removal  of  duty  on  raw  sugar  was  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  duty  on  refined  sugar, 
which  enabled  the  Sugar  Trust  to  make  vast  profits 
out  of  that  article  of  common  table  consumption. 
Two  Republican  defeats — each  of  them  overwhelm- 
ing— in  1890  and  1892 — seemed  to  give  emphatic 


Il6  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

notice  that  the  nation  was  not  satisfied  with  the 
McKinley  Law.  The  election  of  1892  was  con- 
tested on  the  issue  of  that  law,  with  a  complication 
of  labor  troubles  which  weakened  the  cause  of 
protection. 


THE  WII.SON  TARIFF  LAW. 

The  struggle  which  preceded  the  enactment  of 
the  so-called  Wilson  Tariff  Law,  sometimes  called 
the  "  Wilson-Gorman  Tariff"  on  account  of  the 
agency  of  Senator  Gorman  of  Maryland  in  making 
changes  in  the  bill  as  it  came  from  the  House,  was 
one  of  the  most  disgraceful  in  the  history  of 
American  legislation.  The  bill  passed  the  House 
of  Representatives  without  scandal,  but  it  was 
alleged,  when  the  measure  reached  the  Senate, 
that  wrongful  influences  had  been  brought  to  bear 
upon  Senators  to  secure  their  advocacy  of  con- 
tinued high  protection  for  refined  sugar.  An  in- 
vestigation was  held,  and  the  committee  appointed 
to  make  the  inquiry  reported  that  no  charge  had 
been  filed  before  it  that  the  action  of  any  Senator 
had  been  "  corruptly  or  improperly  influenced  in 
the  consideration  of  the  tariff  bill,  or  that  any 
attempt  had  been  made  to  so  influence  legislation." 
The  bill  went  back  to  the  House  retaining  free 
wool  as  the  only  original  feature  of  importance, 
and  was  received  in  that  body  with  a  burst  of 
indignant  protest.  Meantime  influences  were 
actively  at  work  in  the  Senate,  and  there  is  ground 
for  believing  that,  had  the  measure  gone  back  to 
that  body  a  sufficient  number  of  votes  would  have 
been  obtained  to  defeat  the  measure  and  leave  the 
McKinley  Law  in  operation.  The  consummation 
of  this  alleged  bargain  was  defeated  by  the  passage 
of  the  bill  in  the  House  with  all  the  Senate  amend- 
ments. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS. 


117 


The  principal  differences  between  the  Wilson 
and  McKinley  Laws  and  the  tariff  of  1883,  are 
indicated  by  the  following  table : 

TARIFF   RATES   COMPARED. 

Schedule.  Cotton.  Flax.    Wool.  Silk, 

New  law,  per  cent  ad  valorem,  .41  32        41  46 

McKinley  tariff,    .        55  42       99  53 

Mills  bill, 33  25       40  50 

Tariff  of  1883, 35  31        67  45 

The  sugar  bounty  is  abolished,  and  a  duty  of 
forty  per  cent  ad  valorem  imposed  upon  raw  sugar, 
which  before  was  free,  while  refined  sugar  pays 
one-eighth  of  a  cent  a  pound  and  forty  per  cent, 
against  one-half  a  cent  under  the  late  tariff.  Wool, 
raw  hides,  and  many  other  articles  are  duty  free. 
Other  differences  are  apparent  in  the  following 
statement  compiled  by  the  treasury  department : 

Old  Rate.  New  Rate. 

China,  painted,  etc., 60.00  35 .00 

Bottles,  empty, 70.01  5  2.63 

Bottles,  filled, 7148  53.61 

Demijohns,  empty, 37-91  28.43 

Manufactures  of  glass,      .    .        .    .  60.00  35  oo 

Cylinder  glass,  polished,  unsilvered,  20  to  64  13  to  48 

Plate  glass,  unsilvered,  cast,  etc.,   .  98  to  174  88  to  122 
Plate  glass,  cast,  silvered,  above  24 

by  60, 49.39  31.28 

Stained  or  painted  window  glass,  .  45 .00  35 .00 

Roofing  slate, 25.00  20.00 

Iron  ore, 42.77  22.27 

Iron  in  pigs,  etc.,      36  to  41  15  to  21 

Scrap  iron, 47-83  28.47 

Scrap  steel, 43.00  25-59 

Bar  iron, 25  to  53  16  to  32 

Bars  of  rolled  iron, 61.77  44-93 

Boiler  or  other  plate  iron  or  steel,  .  54-°o  25.00 

Rails  of  steel, 58.24  33-99 


.n8 


HAND  BOOK  TOR 


Sheets  of  iron  or  steel,  common  or 

black 

Tin  plates 

Tin,  Manufactures  of  Steel  ingots, 

etc., 

•Cast-iron  vessels,  etc., 

Malleable  iron  castings, 

Hollowware, 

Firearms, 

Nails, 

Railway  fish  plates, 

Hand,  back,  and  other  saws,  .    .    . 

Screws 

Wheels 

Plates  (rolled),  braziers'  copper,     . 

-Gold  leaf, 

Silver  leaf, 

Lead,  sheet, 

tt.ckel 

Pins, 

.Zinc,  in  sheets 

Manufactures  of  metal, 

•Casks,  barrels  and  boxes,    .... 

Blocks,  wood, 

Rice,  cleaned 

Hice,  uucleaned, 

Oranges,  lemons  and  limes,     .    .    . 

Spirits,  distilled, 

•Cotton  cloths,  not  over  100  threads, 

not  bleached, 

•Cotton,  bleached, 

Cotton,  dyed,  colored,  etc.,     .   .    . 
•Cotton,  exceeding  100  threads,  not 

bleached 

Cotton,  bleached, 

Cotton,  dyed,  etc., 

Cables,  cordage  and  twine,     .    .    . 

Bagging  for  cotton, 

"Woolen  yarns,      


Old  Rate.     New  Rate. 


25  to  70 
78.44 

29  to  50 

26.97 
31.83 

35-33 

41  u  80 

23  to  45 

72.18 

40.00 

47  to  1 1 1 

83.72 

35-00 
4487 
77-78 
3665 
23-77 
30.00 
29.19 
45.00 
30.00 
35.00 
1,1.85 
64.19 

12  tO  31 

91  to  367 

35-17 
38.60 
40.80 

42-39 
43.27 
43.84 

16  to  31 

32.52 

278.66 


20  to  55 
42.32 

20  to  40 

17.98 
16.37 
23-55 

30.00 
26  to  30 

25.00 

25.00 

33  to  67 

41.86 

20.00 
3000 
30.00 

18.33 
14.26 
25.OO 
H-59 

35-00 
20  oo 
25.00 

83.89 

41.08 

12  tO  32 

65  to  264 

35-05 
26.53 
30-54 

32.39 

35-oo 
38.84 

10  tO  20 

Free 
30.00 


AMERICAN  CITI 

ZENS. 

119 

Old  Rate. 

New  Rate. 

Shawls,  woolen,    not    above   forty 

cents  per  pound,    

136.00 

35-00 

Blankets  

80  to  104 

35.00 

Hats  of  wool,    

86  to  107 

35-OQ 

Flannels,  not  over  fifty  cents  per 

pound  

85  to  104 

25  to  35 

Silk,  partially  manufactured,  . 

60.50 

20.00 

Silk   webbings,   gros-grains,  dress 

goods,  etc.,    ...            ... 

'        5O.OO 

45.00 

Writing,  drawing  and  other  paper, 

N.  S.  P.,    

35-°° 

20.CO 

Dolls  and  other  toys,   

35-00 

25.00 

Coal,  bituminous,     .        .... 

2272 

12.12 

Slack,  or  culm  of  coal,     

28.68 

14-34 

Coke,     

20.00 

15.00 

Matches,    

33-93 

20.00 

Haircloth,  known  as  crinoline  cloth, 

27.99 

20.99 

Haircloth,  known  as  hair  seating    . 

23.22 

1548 

Leather,  bend  or  belting  and  sole,  . 

IO.OO 

IOOO 

Calfskins,  jaoanned,     

30.00 

20.09 

Leather,all  not  specially  provided  for 

,         IO.OO 

IO.OO 

Boots  and  shoes,  

25.00 

20.00 

Manufactures  of  India  rubber,   .    . 

30.00 

25.00 

Composition  metal,  copper,     .    .    . 

6.49 

Free 

Plates  of  copper,  not  rolled,    .    .    . 

1  1.  80 

Free 

Binding  twine,     

6.47 

Free 

Paintings  in  oil  or  water  colors,  .    . 

15.00 

Free 

Statuary,    

15.00 

Free 

Hatters'  plush,      

10.00 

Free 

RECIPROCITY. 

The  Wilson  Law  also  repealed  what  was  known 
as  the  ' '  Reciprocity  Section ' '  of  the  McKinley 
Law,  which  had  been  intended  especially  to  gain 
the  trade  of  Central  and  South  America  for  the 
United  States.  The  Reciprocity  Section  provided 
that  ' '  whenever  and  so  often  as  the  President  shall 


120  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

be  satisfied  that  the  government  of  any  country 
producing  and  exporting  sugar,  molasses,  coffee, 
tea,  and  hides,  raw  or  uncured,  or  any  such  articles, 
imposes  duties  or  other  exactions  upon  the  agricul- 
tural or  other  products  of  the  United  States,  which 
in  view  of  the  free  introduction  of  such  sugar, 
molasses,  coffee,  tea  and  hides  into  the  United 
States  he  may  deem  to  be  reciprocally  unequal  and 
unreasonable,  he  shall  have  the  power,  and  it  shall 
be  his  duty  to  suspend  by  proclamation  to  that 
effect  the  provisions  of  this  act  relating  to  the  free 
introduction  of  such  sugar,  molasses,  coffee,  tea  and 
hides,  the  production  of  such  country,  for  such 
time  as  he  shall  deem  just,  and  in  such  case  and 
during  such  suspension  duties  shall  be  levied,  col- 
lected and  paid  upon  sugar,  molasses,  coffee,  tea 
and  hides,  the  product  of,  or  exported  from  such 
designated  country  as  follows,"  etc.  In  pursuance 
of  this  provision  reciprocity  treaties  had  been 
negotiated  with  Spain  and  Brazil.  Honduras.  Sal- 
vador, Guatemala,  Nicaragua,  San  Domingo,  Ger- 
many, Austria-Hungary  and  Great  Britain  for 
Jamaica  and  her  other  West  Indian  colonies  and 
British  Guiana.  The  effect  of  the  reciprocity  treaty 
with  Spain  had  been  highly  favorable,  the  British 
consul-general,  at  Havana,  being  quoted  as  saying : 
"  British  trade  with  Cuba  has  almost  become  a 
thing  of  the  past ;  and  under  the  recent  reciprocity 
treaty  the  United  States  of  America  practically 
supplies  all  the  wants  of  the  islands  and  receives 
all  its  produce.  The  effect  has  been  to  throw 
nearly  the  entire  Cuban  trade  into  the  hands  of  the 
United  States  traders,  with  whom  importers  of 
goods  from  less  favored  nations  cannot  compete, 
having  to  pay  by  the  terms  of  such  a  treaty  higher 
import  duties. ' '  On  the  passage  of  the  Wilson  Law 
Spain  promptly  abrogated  the  treaty,  and  Brazil 
soon  afterward  gave  three  months'  notice  of  abro- 
gation. All  the  treaties  based  on  reciprocity  have 
terminated. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  121 

PART  V. 
THE  SILVER  QUESTION. 

DEMONETIZATION  OP  SILVER. 

The  silver  question  is  one  of  the  most  important 
before  the  people  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a 
question  which  involves  the  interests  not  only  of 
the  so-called  silver  States,  but  of  all  the  Union,  and 
the  financial  credit  of  the  nation  at  home  and 
abroad.  It  has  not  reached  a  final  solution,  and 
the  result  of  the  coming  Presidential  election  may 
depend  upon  whether  the  voters  in  the  silver- 
mining  regions  prefer  the  advocacy  of  free  silver 
to  their  accustomed  party  allegiance. 

The  first  United  States  Coinage  Act  was  passed 
in  1792,  and  authorized  the  unrestricted  mintage  of 
gold  and  silver  at  the  then  prevalent  ratio  of  I  to 
15.  One  ounce  of  gold  having  become,  in  1834, 
equal  in  commercial  value  to  about  16  ounces  of 
silver,  Congress  in  that  year  changed  the  ratio  to  I 
to  15,988,  or  practically  i  to  16.  While  the  com- 
mercial value  of  silver  has  varied  considerably 
since  1834.  the  le^al  ratio  has  remained  the  same. 
Congress  in  1873  demonetized  the  silver  dollar. 
This  enactment  has  been  and  is  the  subject  of  so 
much  controversy  that  it  may  be  well  to  quote  the 
provisions  bearing  upon  silver  demonetization. 

"  SEC.  14.  That  the  gold  coins  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  a  one-dollar  piece,  which,  at  the  standard  weight 
of  twenty-five  and  eight-tenths  grains,  shall  be  the  unit  of 
value.  [Then  follow  directions  as  to  other  gold  coins.] 


122  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

"SEC.  15.  That  the  silver  coins  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  a  trade  dollar,  a  half  dollar,  or  fifty- 
cent  piece,  a  quarter  dollar,  or  twenty-five  cent  piece,  a 
dime,  or  ten-cent  piece;  and  the  weight  of  the  trade 
dollar  shall  be  420  grains  troy ;  the  weight  of  the  half 
dollar  shall  be  twelve  grams  and  one-half  of  a  giam; 
the  quarter  dollar  and  the  dime  shall  be  respectively 
one-half  and  one-fifth  of  the  weight  of  said  half  dollar, 
and  said  coins  shall  be  a  legal  tender  at  their  nominal 
value  for  any  amount  not  exceeding  $5  in  any  one 
payment. 

"Sec.  17.  That  no  Coins,  either  of  gold,  silver  or 
minor  coinage,  shall  hereafter  be  issued  Irom  the  mint 
other  than  those  of  the  denominations,  standards  and 
weights  herein  set  forth." 

It  is  but  fair  to  state  that  this  act  was  not  passed 
in  any  stealthy  manner,  the  subject  having  been 
under  public  discussion  in  and  out  of  Congress  for 
almost  three  years  previously.  Tt  is  not  surprising 
that  the  demonetization  of  silver  should  have 
•encountered  so  little  opposition  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  silver  dollar  was  then  an  obsolete 
coin.  The  law  had  permitted  the  free  coinage  of 
silver  since  April  2,  1792,  yet  the  total  amount 
coined  prior  to  1873  was  only  #8,045,838,  while  the 
amount  of  gold  coined  during  the  same  period  was 
,$781,656,541.  The  silver  dollar  was  not  an  actual 
standard  of  value  for  about  thirty-five  years  pre- 
vious to  1873,  there  having  been  practically  no 
silver  in  circulation  during  that  period.  The 
demonetization  of  silver  was  undoubtedly  prompted 
by  apprehension  that  the  rapidly  increasing  output 
of  that  metal  would  lead  to  disturbance  of  values 
and  depreciation  of  the  currency,  should  the  silver 
remain  even  nominally  a  standard  coin.  In  that 
very  year  of  1873  a  new  body  of  paying  ore  was 
-discovered  in  one  of  the  mines  of  the  Comstock 
lode  in  Nevada,  and  the  value  of  silver  began  rap- 
idly to  decline.  The  following  table  shows  the 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS. 


123 


decline  down  to  the  period  of  the  repeal  of  the 
Sherman  Act  in  1893  : 

SILVER  AND  GOLD  VALUES. 


Calen-            Value  o 
dar                ounce  at 
years.             age  quot 

I«73.     .     •     •       $ 
1874  

f  fine 
aver- 
ations. 
•30 
.28 
•25 

.16 

.20 

•15 
.12 
.14 

.14 

•13 
.11 
.11 

1875  .     . 

1876  .     . 

1877                  .     . 

1878  .     . 

1879  

1880  

1881  

1882      .... 

1883  . 

1884  

1885  1.06 

1886         .           0.99 

1887  0.08 

1888  ...          < 

>.94 
'•93 
.05 

).OQ 

1889      .    .    .    .   c 

1890  

1891  c 

1892  0.87 

I  $93  8  months    0.81 


Gain  or 
loss 

Bullion  values 
of  a  U.S. 

Gold 

per  cent. 

silver  dollar. 

ratio. 

0.45  gain 

III.004 

15-9 

i.oo  loss 

.989 

152 

3.00  loss 

.96 

1  6.6 

10.00  loss 

.90 

17.9 

7.00  loss 

.929 

17.2 

10.00  loss 

.89 

17.9 

13.00  loss 

.869 

18.4 

1  1.  oo  loss 

.886 

18.0 

I2.OO  loSS 

.88 

18.1 

I2.OO  loSS 

.878 

18.2 

14.00  loss 

.868 

186 

14.00  loss 

.86 

18.6 

1  8.00  loss 

.82 

19.4 

23.00  loss 

.769 

20.8 

24.00  loss 

•757 

21.  1 

27.00  loss 

.727 

22.0 

28.00  loss 

.72 

22.0 

1  9.00  loss 

.809 

197 

23.00  loss 

.76 

20-9 

33.00  loss 

.67 

23.7 

37.00  loss 

.625 

25-5 

THE  Bl,AND-Al,L;ISON  ACT. 

The  movement  for  the  restoration  of  silver  as  a 
money  metal  began  in  this  country  in  1878  with 
the  passage  of  the  Bland  Allison  act.  In  1^78,  the 
Bland  bill  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver  dollars 
passed  the  House.  An  amendment,  subsequently 
concurred  in  by  the  House,  was  secured  by  Mr. 
Allison  in  the  Senate  ;  and  the  measure  finally 
?jecame  a  law  over  the  veto  of  President  Hayes. 


124  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

The  coinage  of  the  silver  dollar,  with  full  legal- 
tender  power,  was  restored — not  for  individuals,  as 
prior  to  1873,  but  on  government  account — the  law 
requiring  the  purchase  and  coinage  monthly,  by 
the  Government,  of  not  less  than  $2, 000,000  nor 
more  than  $4,000000  wrorth  of  silver  bullion. 
Although  only  the  minimum  amount  was  pur- 
chased and  coined,  the  purchases  of  silver  under 
this  act  agg'egated  291,292,019  ounces,  costing 
£308  199. 262,  from  which  there  were  coined  and 
issued,  either  in  actual  dollars  or  paper  certificates, 
$,78,166795. 

When  this  bill  was  passed,  continental  Europe 
had  already  gone  far  toward  the  adoption  of  the 
gold  standard.  In  1870  Great  Britain  was  the  only 
gold  stmdard  country  in  the  world  by  law.  The 
United  States  was  practically  a  gold  standard  coun- 
try, lor  the  silver  dollar,  being  undervalued,  did 
not  circulate.  In  1871  Germany  decided  on  the 
gold  standard,  and  practically  threw  her  old  silver 
coins  on  the  m  .rket  in  the  iorm  of  bullion.  Hol- 
land followed  in  1873,  the  I^atin  Union  in  1876,  and 
Spain  in  1878.  The  immediate  reason  for  this 
movement  was  the  depreciation  of  silver,  and  this 
depreciation  continued.  Notwithstanding  the 
enormous  purchases  under  the  Bland-Allison  act, 
the  price  of  the  metal  fell  from  |r  20  J^  an  ounce  on 
February  28,  1878,  to  $0.92  an  ounce  on  May  29, 
1839. 


THE  SHERMAN  ACT. 

In  June,  1890,  the  senate,  by  a  vote  of  42  to  25, 
had  passed  a  bill  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver  into 
legal  dollars  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  I.  There  being  a 
prospect  that  the  bill  would  pass  the  House,  the 
silver  law  of  July  14,  1890  (the  so-called  "Sherman" 
law),  was  framed.  It  finally  passed  the  House  bj 
122  to  90,  the  yeas  being  121  Republicans  and  I 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  125 

"Wheeler,"  and  the  nays  all  Democrats.  In  the 
Senate  the  vote  stood  39  to  26,  a  strict  party  divi- 
sion, the  yeas  being  all  Republicans,  and  three  un- 
paired Democrats  not  voting.  The  treasury  was 
required  to  purchase  4.500.000  ounces  of  silver 
monthly,  and  the  act  required  the  coinage  into 
dollars  monthly,  until  July  I,  1891,  of  2.000,000 
ounces  of  the  silver  bought.  A  declaration  was, 
however,  inserted  by  Senator  Sherman,  to  the 
effect  that  it  is  the  "established  policy  of  the  United 
States  to  maintain  the  two  metals  on  a  parity  with 
each  other  upon  the  present  legal  ratio,  or  such 
ratio  as  may  be  provided  by  law."  Up  to  July  i, 
1893,  the  Treasury  had  purchased,  under  the  opera- 
tion of  this  law,  about  157,000,000  ounces  of  silver. 
There  had  been  a  steady  outflow  of  gold  from  the 
United  States  for  several  years.  The  stock  of  free 
gold  in  the  Treasury  fell  from  1218,818,255  in  May, 
1888,  to  $93,582,172  on  September  30,  1893. 


REPEAL  OF  SILVER  PURCHASE. 

It  was  for  the  special  purpose  of  securing  a  repeal 
of  the  silver  law  of  1890  that  President  Cleveland 
convoked  the  53d  Congress  in  extraordinary  session 
August  7,  1893.  His  message,  summariz  ng  the 
main  arguments  against  continued  purchases  of 
silver,  was  not  of  the  character  to  oven  ome  oppo- 
sition ;  and  the  debate  was  prolonged  in  the  House 
until  August  26.  The  silver  men,  however,  fought 
a  losing  battle ;  and  on  August  28,  the  Wilson 
bill  (so  called  from  Hon.  W.  Iv.  Wilson  Demo- 
cratic, of  West  Virginia,  who  introduced  it  August 
n),  was  passed  by  the  altogether  unexpected 
majority  of  130.  It  repealed  the  purchase  clause 
of  the  Sherman  Act.  but  left  unimpaired  the 
legal-tender  quality  of  the  standard  silver  dollars 
heretofore  coined  up  to  that  time,  and  pledged  the 
faith  and  credit  of  the  United  States  to  maintain 


126  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  parity  of  all  its  coins.  During  the  contest  the 
silver  men,  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Bland,  of 
Missouri,  made  desperate  efforts  to  secure  the  pas- 
sage of  a  free  coinage  law.  Several  ratios,  ranging 
from  16  to  i  to  20  to  i,  were  proposed ;  but  were 
successively  rejected  by  decisive  majorities.  A 
similar  fate  met  a  proposal  to  revive  the  Bland- 
Allison  Act  of  1878.  The  bill  went  to  the  Senate, 
and  after  a  severe  struggle  passed  that  body  and  at 
length  became  a  law,  November  i,  1893. 

One  of  the  most  important  political  results  of  the 
repeal  of  the  so-called  Sherman  Act  was  the  seces- 
sion from  the  Republican  party  of  Senator  John  P. 
Jones,  of  Nevada.  The  latter  addressed  a  letter  on 
September  4,  1^94.  to  the  chairman  of  the  Repub- 
lican State  central  committee  of  Nevada,  formally 
severing  his  connection  with  the  Republican  party, 
announcing  his  alliance  with  "  the  party  that  brings 
this  overmastering  issue  (the  silver  question)  to  the 
front"  (presumably  the  Populists),  and  giving  at 
length  his  reasons  therefor.  In  the  mam  these 
reasons  are.  that  the  Republican  party  organization 
is  unalterably  opposed  to  the  free  coinage  of  silver 
at  the  American  ratio  of  16  to  i,  or  at  all,  except 
with  the  consent  of  foreign  governments  and  at  a 
ratio  to  be  dictated  by  them. 


DEMANDS  OF  SILVER  ADVOCATES. 

The  claims  of  the  advocates  of  free  silver  coinage 
seem  to  be  clearly  and  simply  set  forth  in  the 
following  demands  of  the  National  Bimetallic 
League: 

11 1.  All  legislation  demonetizing  silver  and  re- 
stricting the  coinage  thereof  must  be  immediately 
and  completely  repealed  by  an  act  restoring  the 
coinage  of  the  country  to  the  conditions  established 
by  the  founders  of  the  nation.  We  protest  against 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  127 

the  financial  policy  of  the  United  States  being 
made  dependent  upon  the  opinion  or  policies  of 
any  foreign  government. 

"  2.  We  assert  that  the  only  remedy  for  our  me- 
tall'c  financial  troubles  is  to  open  the  mints  of  the 
nation  to  gold  and  silver  on  equal  terms  at  the  old 
ratio  of  16  of  silver  to  i  of  gold.  Whenever  silver 
bullion  can  be  exchanged  at  the  mints  for  legal- 
tender  silver  dollars  worth  100  cents,  that  moment 
4*2)4  grains  of  standard  silver  will  be  worth  100 
cents ;  and,  as  commerce  equalizes  the  prices  of  all 
commodities  throughout  the  world,  whenever  412^ 
grains  of  standard  silver  are  worth  100  cents  in  the 
United  States,  they  will  be  worth  that  sum  every- 
where else,  and  cannot  be  bought  for  less.  While- 
such  a  result  would  enhance  the  price  of  bullion,  a 
similar  rise  would  be  immediately  made  in  every 
kind  of  property,  except  gold  and  credits." 


T28  HAND  BOOK  FOR 


PART  VI. 
TRUSTS  AND  MONOPOLIES. 

MONOPOLY  DESCRIBED. 

Monopoly  is  the  possession  by  an  individual  or 
corporation  of  the  exclusive  privilege  of  supplying 
some  public  and  general  want  Every  citizen  of 
the  United  States  lias  the  right  to  engage  in  any 
lawful  business,  subject  to  the  conditions  imposed 
by  law  ;  but  monopolies  are  nevertheless  conferred 
both  by  Federal  and  State  legislation.  The  patent 
and  copyright  laws  grant  monopolies  to  those  who 
comply  wilh  their  requirements.  A  railway  may 
be  a  monopoly,  so  far  as  part  or  all  of  its  traffic  is 
concerned,  if  there  is  no  competing  line.  Street- 
railway  and  gas  and  water-supply  franchises  are 
often,  if  not  generally,  monopolies,  for  the  reason 
that  competition  is  impossible  under  the  terms  of 
the  grant  In  the  case  of  a  street  railway,  for  in- 
stance, there  could  not  very  well  be  two  rival  lines 
on  one  thoroughfare. 

Certain  monopolies  which  have  been  engaging 
public  attention  for  several  years,  are,  however, 
monopolies  only  in  a  conventional  sense.  They 
are  combinations  of  trade  and  capital  for  the  pur- 
pose of  controlling  and  profitably  managing  some 
particular  branch  of  business,  previously  carried  on 
by  several  and  perhaps  numerous  competing  con- 
cerns These  combinations  are  generally  known  as 
"trusts,"  and  various  laws  have  been  passed  for 
their  suppression.  That  they  sometimes  interfere 
in  legislation  and  exert  great  power  in  politics  was 
shown,  in  1894,  in  the  minority  (Republican) 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  129 

report  from  the  Senate  Committee  on  the  Sugar 
Trust  scandal,  as  follows  : 

POUTICAI,  POWER  OF  TRUSTS. 

"  A11  the  witnesses  stated  that  in  all  these  con- 
ferences and  discussions  nothing  was  presented  ex- 
cept the  ordinary  arguments  off  red  by  an  industry 
in  regard  to  its  interests  in  a  tariff  bill ;  but  the  un- 
dersigned feel  that  the  American  Sugar  Refining 
company  occupies  a  very  different  position,  not 
only  in  the  public  estimation,  but  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  from  that  of  any  other  industry  in  the  coun- 
try. It  is  a  very  rich  corporation  with  an  enormous 
interest  in  tariff  legislation.  It  is  a  matter  of  com- 
plete indifference  to  the  trust,  what  duties  are  levied 
upon  sugar,  so  long  as  the  form  is  ad  valorem,  and 
a  sufficient  differential  is  given  in  favor  of  refined 
sugars.  The  sugar  trust,  by  the  evidence  of  its 
president  and  treasurer,  has  contributed  freely  to 
the  State  and  city  campaign  funds  of  both  parties, 
and  those  contributions  have  been  made  in  years 
when  national  elections  were  held.  This  is  a 
thoroughly  corrupt  form  of  campaign  contribu- 
tions ;  for  such  contributions,  being  given  to  two 
opposing  parties,  are  not  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
moting certain  political  principles,  but  to  establish 
an  obligation  to  the  giver  on  the  pnrt  of  whichever 
party  comes  into  power.  The  trust  does  not  give 
to  political  parties  for  the  promotion  of  political 
principles  in  which  it  believes,  but  for  the  protec- 
tion of  its  own  interests,  as  appears  by  the  same 
testimony.  The  fact  that  it  gives  to  both  political 
parties  is  sufficient  proof  of  the  purposes  of  its  con- 
tributions and  of  their  dangerous  nature. 

*'  For  these  reasons  the  undersigned  have  felt  it 
important  to  lay  before  the  senate  and  the  country 
the  fact  that  the  sugar  schedule  as  it  now  stands  is 
according  to  the  testimony  in  the  form  desired  by 
the  sugar  trust,  and  to  point  out  also  the  methods 


130  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

by  which  the  sugar  trust  reached  what  it  desired 
and  obtained,  a  substantial  victory." 

The  United  States  Anti-Trust  Law,  passed  in 
1890,  is  as  follows  : 

AN  ACT 

TO  PROTECT  TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  AGAINST  UNLAW- 
FUL RESTRAINTS  AND  MONOPOLIES. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  as- 
sembled. 

SECTION  I.  Every  contract,  combination  in  the  form  of 
trust  or  otherwise,  or  conspiracy,  in  restraint  of  trade  or 
commerce  among  the  several  States,  or  with  foreign 
nations,  is  hereby  declared  to  be  illegal.  Every  person 
who  shall  make  any  such  contract,  or  engage  in 
any  combination  or  conspiracy,  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and,  on  conviction  thereof, 
shall  be  punished  by  fine  not  exceeding  five  thou- 
sand dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  not  exceeding  one 
year,  or  by  both  said  punishments,  in  the  discretion  of  the 
court. 

SEC.  2.  Every  person  who  shall  monopolize,  or  attempt 
to  monopolize,  or  combine  or  conspire  with  any  other  per- 
son or  persons,  to  monopolize  any  part  of  the  trade  or 
commerce  among  the  several  States,  or  with  foreign  na- 
tions, shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and,  on 
conviction  thereof,  shall  be  punished  by  fine  not  exceeding 
five  thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  not  exceeding 
one  year,  or  by  both  said  punishments,  in  the  discretion  of 
the  court. 

SEC.  3.  Every  contract,  combination  in  form  of  (rust 
or  otherwise,  or  conspiracy,  in  restraint  of  trade  or  com- 
merce  in  any  Territory  of  the  United  States  or  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  or  in  restraint  of  trade  or  commerce 
between  any  such  Territory  and  another,  or  between  any 
feuch  Territory  or  Territories  and  any  State  or  Slates  or 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  131 

the  District  of  Columbia,  or  with  foreign  nations,  or  be- 
iween  ihe  District  of  Columbia  and  any  State  or  States  or 
foreign  nations,  is  hereby  declared  illegal.  Every  person 
who  shall  make  any  such  contract  or  engage  in  any  such 
combination  or  conspiracy,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and,  on  conviction  thereof,  shall  be  pun- 
ished by  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by 
imprisonment  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  by  both  said 
punishments,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

SEC.  4.  The  several  circuit  courts  of  the  United  State* 
are  hereby  invested  with  jurisdiction  to  prevent  and  re- 
strain violations  of  this  act;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  several  district  attorneys  of  the  United  States,  in  their 
respective  districts,  under  the  direction  of  the  Attorney- 
General,  to  institute  proceedings  in  equity  to  prevent  and 
restrain  such  violations.  Such  proceedings  may  be  by 
way  of  petition  setting  forth  the  case  and  praying  that 
such  violation  shall  be  enjoined  or  otherwise  prohibited. 
When  the  parties  complained  of  shall  have  been  duly 
notified  of  such  petition  the  court  shall  proceed,  as  soon 
as  may  be,  to  the  hearing  and  determination  of  the  case; 
and  pending  such  petition  and  before  final  decree,  the 
eouri  may  at  any  time  make  such  temporary  restraining 
order  or  prohibition  as  shall  be  deemed  just  in  the  pre- 
mises. 

SKC.  5.  Whenever  it  shall  appear  to  the  court  before 
which  any  proceeding  under  section  four  of  this  act  may 
be  pending,  that  the  ends  of  justice  require  that  other 
parties  should  be  brought  before  the  court,  the  court  may 
cause  them  to  be  summoned,  whether  they  reside  in  the 
district  in  which  the  court  is  held  or  not;  and  subpoenas 
to  that  end  may  be  served  in  any  district  by  the  marshal 
thereof. 

SEC.  6.  Any  property  owned  under  any  contract  or  by 
any  combination,  or  pursuant  to  any  conspiracy  (and 
being  the  subject  thereot  )  mentioned  in  section  one  of 
this  act,  and  being  in  the  course  of  transportation  from 
one  State  to  another,  or  to  a  foreign  country,  shall  be  for- 
feited to  the  United  States,  and  may  be  seized  and  con- 
demned by  like  proceedings  as  those  provided  by  law  for 


133  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  forfeiture,  seizure,  and  condemnation  of  property  im- 
ported into  the  United  States  contrary  to  law. 

SEC.  7.  Any  person  who  shall  be  injured  in  his  business 
or  property  by  any  other  person  or  corporation  by  reason 
of  anything  forbidden  or  declared  to  be  unlawful  by  this 
act,  may  sue  therefor  in  any  circuit  court  of  the  United 
States  in  the  district  in  which  the  defendant  resides  or  is 
found,  without  respect  to  the  amount  in  controversy,  and 
shall  recover  three-fold  the  damages  by  him  sustained, 
and  the  costs  of  suit,  including  a  reasonable  attorney's 
fee. 

SEC.  8.  That  the  word  "person,"  or  "persons,"  wher- 
ever used  in  this  act  shall  be  deemed  to  include  corpora- 
tions and  associations  existing  under  or  authorized  by  the 
laws  of  either  the  United  States,  the  laws  of  any  of  the 
Territories,  the  laws  of  any  State,  or  the  laws  of  any  for- 
eign country. 

Approved  July  2,  1890. 


STATS  LAWS  AGAINST  TRUSTS, 

Mr.  Dodd,  in  the  Harvard  "  Law  Review,*  sum- 
marizes anti-trust  legislation  in  the  different  States 
as  follows— the  word  "  persons  "  being  used  for 
"persons,  corporations,  associations,  and  partner- 
ships," and  the  word  "agreement,"  or  "attempt," 
for  "contract,  combination,  conspiracy,  under- 
standing, arrangement,  or  act :  " 

In  sixteen  States,  it  is  a  criminal  conspiracy  for 
two  or  more  persons  to  agree  to  regulate  or  fix  the 
price  of  any  article,  or  to  fix  or  limit  the  quantity 
of  any  article  to  be  manufactured,  mined,  pro- 
duced or  sold.  Regulating  and  fixing  prices  neces- 
sarily include  increasing  and  reducing  prices,  but 
in  most  of  the  statutes  these  are  also  specified  as 
criminal. 

In  six  States,  it  is  a  crime  for  two  or  more  per- 
sons to  enter  into  any  agreement  whereby  "  full 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  135 

and  free  competition  in  production  and  sale "  is 
prevented. 

In  two  States  and  one  territory,  it  is  a  crime  for 
two  or  more  persons  to  "attempt  to  monopolize** 
any  article. 

In  Nebraska,  two  or  more  persons  are  guilty  of 
conspiracy  if  they  agree  to  suspend  or  cease  the 
sale  of  any  manufactured  products,  or  if  they  agree 
that  the  profits  of  any  manufacture  or  sale  shall 
be  made  a  common  fund,  to  be  divided  among 
them. 

In  Texas  and  Mississippi,  besides  the  crimes  of 
fixing,  regulating,  increasing,  and  reducing  prices^ 
it  is  also  a  crime  for  persons  to  settle  the  price  of 
any  article  between  themselves,  or  between  them- 
selves and  others. 

In  New  York,  it  is  a  crime  to  enter  into  any  con- 
tract whereby  competition  in  the  supply  or  price 
of  articles  in  common  use  for  support  of  life  and 
health  may  be  restrained  or  prevented  for  the  pur- 
pose of  advancing  prices. 


HAND  BOOK  FOR 


PART  VII. 
LABOR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

LABOR'S  MARVELOUS  PROGRESS. 

Before  speaking  of  the  present  condition  of 
labor  in  the  United  States  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
recall  something  of  labor's  progress  in  the  past 
under  American  institutions.  Jt  is  unfortunate 
that  stereotyped  history  should  have  so  little  to  say 
about  labor,  as  compared  with  political  events. 
We  hear  much  of  kings  and  queens  and  generals, 
ef  sieges  and  battles  and  triumphs,  but  very  little 
of  the  great  unnumbered  multitude  of  toilers  who 
were,  and  are,  the  very  foundation  and,  we  should 
add,  the  pillar  of  all  this  pomp  and  circumstance. 
If  the  question  should  be  asked,  "  What  has  been 
the  most  prominent  feature  of  the  past  hundred 
years  ?  "  how  few  would  answer,  "  The  emancipa- 
tion of  labor.  "  Yet  the  answer  would  be  eminently 
true.  No  invention,  however  useful  ;  no  military 
achievement,  however  signal,  has  been  of  such 
measureless  advantage  to  humanity  as  the  change 
in  the  conditions  of  labor  since  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

It  is  not  from  reading  ordinary  histories  that  this 
change  is  discernible.  To  comprehend  it  you  must 
delve  into  the  musty  old  records  of  the  past  ;  the 
reports  of  council  and  court  proceedings,  the  pages 
of  ancient  newspapers,  and  especially  the  adver- 
tising columns.  In  all  of  them  you  will  find  crop- 
ping out  the  fact  that  the  ordinary  workingman,  at 
a  period  not  far  distant,  was  hardly  different  from  a 
serf,  while  the  lot  of  the  workingwoman  was  even 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  135 

more  desperate.  The  apprenticeship  of  the  last 
century  was  only  a  modified  form  of  slavery,  and 
the  female  domestic  was  a  bondwoman  with  but 
slight  prospects  of  ever  being  free.  White  men 
and  women  were  bound  for  a  term  of  years  to 
their  masters  or  mistresses,  and  the  term  was  read- 
ily extended  by  the  magistrates  upon  any  trivial 
pretence  of  misconduct  on  the  part  of  the  servant. 
The  pay,  too,  was  so  inadequate  that  only  one  re- 
source remained,  as  a  rule,  when  the  term  of 
service  was  completed,  and  that  was  to  renew  the 
obligation  and  resume  the  yoke  of  bondage.  At 
the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  the 
lines  of  class  in  this  respect  were  distinctly  drawn, 
and  almost  as  severe,  from  a  social  point  of  view, 
as  that  between  whites  and  blacks  in  the  South 
to-day. 


EFFECT  OF  INDEPENDENCE  ON  LABOR. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  was,  of  course, 
not  intended  to  liberate  the  bondman,  white  or 
black,  except  so  far  as  related  to  political  separation 
from  England ;  but  perforce  of  circumstances  it 
did  have  that  effect  both  as  regarded  the  general 
body  of  white  laborers  and  some  of  the  blacks. 
Perhaps  this  was  one  reason  why  the  rich  through- 
out the  colonies  were  frequently  on  the  Tory  side. 
In  1775,  before  independence  was  declared,  but 
when  war  had  begun,  General  Washington,  speak- 
ing of  the  Massachusetts  levies,  says :  "From  the 
number  of  boys,  deserters  and  negroes  which  have 
been  enlisted  in  the  troops  of  this  province  I  en- 
tertain some  doubts  whether  the  number  required 
can  be  raised  here,  and  all  the  general  officers  agree 
that  no  dependence  can  be  put  on  the  militia  for  a 
continuance  in  camp,  or  regularity  and  discipline 
during  the  short  time  they  may  stay.  This  un- 
happy and  devoted  province  has  been  so  long  in  a 


136  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

state  of  anarchy  and  the  yoke  of  ministerial  op- 
pression been  laid  so  heavily  on  it  that  great  allow- 
ances are  to  be  made  for  troops  raised  under  such 
circumstances."  The  "  deserters  "  spoken  of  by 
General  Washington  were  doubtless  men  who  had 
deserted  the  service  of  their  masters  to  join  the 
Continental  forces,  and  who  preferred  fii^Lting  for 
the  liberty  of  their  country  to  personal  slavery. 
The  American  army  in  the  Revolution  was  largely 
composed  of  such  men,  end  in  the  stress  for  re- 
cruits the  authorities  made  no  searching  inquiries 
as  to  whether  the  volunteer  was  or  was  rot  some- 
body's indentured  servant  Consequently  the  War 
of  Independence  effected  a  social  as  well  PS  politi- 
cal revolution.  It  effected  a  thorough  kneading, 
as  it  were,  of  the  various  elements  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  when  it  closed  the  workingman  was  vir- 
tually free  to  labor  where  he  pleased,  while  the 
rich  and  poor  were  much  closer  together  than  they 
had  been  before. 


WORKINGMAN' s  POLITIC AI,  ENFRAN- 
CHISEMENT. 

The  conspiracy  laws,  however,  remained.  It  was 
still  a  crime,  as  in  the  da)  s  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  for 
workingmen  to  combine  with  a  view  of  bringing 
employers  to  terms,  and  many  harsh  prosecutions 
were  instituted  and  maintained  on  this  ground. 
Property  qualifications  excluded  the  workingman 
from  the  suffrage  in  many  of  the  States,  and 
although  at  liberty  to  work  where  he  pleased,  and 
no  longer  a  bondman  held  by  indenture,  he  was 
still  debarred  from  a  share  in  the  government 
supported  by  his  toil,  and  denied  the  right  to 
combine  for  the  improvement  of  his  condition.  As 
long  as  the  laborer  remained  apolitical  nonentity 
it  was  useless  for  him  to  hope  for  a  repeal  of  the 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  137 

laws  which,  if  they  did  not  prevent  labor  organiza- 
tion, made  that  organization  ineffectual.  The  prop- 
erty qualification  laws  were  gradually  repealed  in 
the  Northern  States  where  they  had  existed,  except 
one — Rhode  Island — where  a  property  qualification 
for  foreign  born  voters  continued  in  force  until 
five  or  six  years  ago.  The  workingman,  now 
recognized  as  a  political  equal,  soon  made  his 
influence  felt,  and  the  rivalry  of  political  parties 
for  his  favor  led  to  the  gradual  effacement  of  all 
the  statutes  which  interfered  with  his  right  to 
organize  for  an  increase  of  wages  and  the  general 
improvement  of  his  condition.  Labor  organizations 
were  formed  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and 
especially  in  the  centres  of  industry,  and  strikes, 
sometimes  prudent  and  at  other  times  imprudent, 
sometimes  successful  and  often  unsuccessful,  gave 
notice  that  labor  meant  to  assert  its  claim  to  fair 
and  reasonable  wages. 


LABOR  ORGANIZATION  AND  IMPROVED 
CONDITIONS. 

Organization  has  undoubtedly  had  an  effect  in 
maintaining  wages  at  a  figure  sufficient  for  a  com- 
fortable living.  It  is  only  necessary  to  glance  at 
unorganized  trades  to  perceive  this.  The  working- 
man  who  is  unprotected  by  organization  is  entirely 
at  the  mercy  of  his  employer,  who  may  or  may  not 
be  a  just  man,  and  who  may  be  disposed  to  get  his 
work  done  as  cheaply  as  possible  without  regard  to 
the  effect  on  the  laborer.  The  employer,  indeed, 
is  justified  in  having  work  done  as  cheaply  as  he 
can,  and  it  is  the  business  of  the  workingman  to 
get  all  that  he  can  for  his  work ;  and  this  he  can 
only  do  by  some  form  of  organization  which  will 
enable  employes  to  act  in  harmony  for  their  com- 
mon advantage.  The  laws  which  have  been  passed 


138  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

in  nearly  every  manufacturing  State  reducing  the 
hours  of  labor,  regulating  the  employment  of 
children  in  factories,  and  providing  for  factory 
inspection  by  officials  acting  under  State  authoritry 
are  all  chiefly  due  to  organized  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  workingmen.  There  is  no  doubt  that  labor 
organizations  are  sometimes  blindly  led,  with  dis- 
astrous results  for  themselves  and  for  the  public, 
but  labor  organization  has  been  and  is,  on  the  whole 
fruitful  of  benefit  not  for  the  workingman  only 
— using  that  term  in  its  narrow  sense — but  for  the 
community.  The  welfare  of  society  is  promoted 
by  every  improvement  in  the  workingman 's  condi- 
tion— by  weekly  payments,  by  shortened  hours, 
which  give  him  opportunity  for  recreation  and  in- 
struction.and  by  compelling  heartless  and  unscrupu- 
lous employers  to  have  regard  for  the  interests  of 
those  whose  labor  fertilizes  capital.  So  far  from  be- 
ing gloomy  or  unpromising,  the  condition  of  labor 
in  this  country  is  most  promising,  and  every  reason- 
able advantage  which  labor  has  yet  to  attain  can  be 
achieved  ballot  in  hand,  by  the  exercise  of  a  free- 
man's duty. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  139 


PART  VIII. 
RELIGION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

CHURCH  AND  STATE. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  religion  was  an 
essential  element  in  the  origin  of  our  nation — far 
more  important  than  the  elements  of  trade  and 
adventure.  From  the  very  beginning,  the  Church 
was  closely  allied  with  the  State  in  several  of  the 
leading  colonies,  and  this  connection  continued  in 
a  more  or  less  modified  form  until  far  in  the 
present  century.  The  writer  met  in  his  earlier 
years  veteran  Baptists  and  Methodists,  who,  when 
themselves  young,  had  been  imprisoned  in  Massa- 
chusetts for  refusing  to  contribute  to  the  support 
of  the  Congregational  ministry.  Both  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  New  Haven  colonies  freemen 
were  required  to  be  church  members.  This  was 
first  ordered  in  the  former  colony  as  early  as  1631. 
"To  the  end  that  the  body  of  the  freemen  may  be 
preserved  of  honest  and  good  men,  it  is  ordered," 
ran  the  statute,  "that  henceforth  no  man  shall  be 
admitted  to  the  freedom  of  the  Commonwealth, 
but  such  as  are  members  of  some  of  the  churches 
within  the  limits  of  its  jurisdiction."  In  1660  it 
was  further  enacted  by  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts — as  the  legislature  of  that  Common- 
wealth was  then,  and  still  is,  designated — that 
44  no  man  whosoever  shall  be  admitted  to  the  free- 
dom of  this  body  politick  but  such  as  are  members 
of  some  Church  of  Christ  and  in  full  communion." 
As  members  of  the  church  were  admitted  only  by 
the  consent  of  those  already  in  membership,  it  is 


140  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

apparent  that  the  government  was  virtually  eccle- 
siastical. The  English  government  sought  to  have 
privilege  of  voting  in  Massachusetts  extended  to 
all  Protestants  "orthodox  in  religion,  though  of 
different  persuasions  concerning  church  govern- 
ment." The  Puritans  discreetly  professed  to  com- 
ply with  this  request  by  providing  that  a  freeman 
must  have  a  certificate  signed  by  the  minister  of 
the  place  where  he  resided  to  the  effect  that  he  was 
44  orthodox  in  religion  and  not  vicious  in  his  life." 
Practically,  the  ministers  being  all  of  the  Congre- 
gational faith,  matters  remained  as  before.  New 
Haven  also  required  that  all  freemen  should  be 
church  members.  Quakers  were  debarred  from 
voting  in  all  the  New  England  colonies  except 
Rhode  Island.  Locke's  Constitution  for  Carolina 
provided  no  man  should  be  a  freeman  "who  doth 
not  acknowledge  a  God,  and  that  God  is  publicly 
and  solemnly  to  be  worshiped. "  Roman  Catho- 
lics were  generally  disfranchised,  even  in  Mary- 
land after  that  province  had  passed  from  the 
control  of  Lord  Baltimore's  family.  The  weight 
of  evidence  is  against  the  charge  that  Rhode  Island 
disfranchised  Roman  Catholics,  although  a  clause 
to  that  effect  appeared  in  several  editions  of  the 
Rhode  Island  laws,  inserted  there  probably  with  a 
view  of  propitiating  the  anti-papal  sentiment  in 
England.  Jews  could  not  legally  vote  in  New- 
York  or  South  Carolina. 


CHURCH  SUPPORT  IN  MASSACHUSETTS. 

After  independence  had  been  declared,  the  con- 
vention which  framed  a  constitution  for  Massachu- 
setts, provided  in  the  Declaration  of  Rights  that 
"the  legislature  shall  from  time  to  time  authorize 
and  require  the  several  towns,  parishes,  precincts 
and  other  bodies  politic,  or  religious  societies,  to 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  141 

make  suitable  provision  at  their  own  expense  for 
the  institution  of  the  public  worship  of  God,  and 
for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  public  Protest- 
ant teachers  of  piety,  religion  and  morality,  in 
all  cases  where  such  provision  shall  not  be  made 
voluntarily.  All  the  people  of  the  Common- 
wealth have  also  a  right  to,  and  do  invest  their 
legislature  with  authority  to  enjoin  upon  all 
the  subjects  an  attendance  upon  the  instructions 
of  the  public  teachers  as  aforesaid,  at  stated  times 
and  seasons,  if  there  be  anyone  whose  instructions 
they  can  conscientiously  all  conveniently  attend: — 

"  Provided,  notwithstanding,  that  the  several 
towns,  parishes,  precincts,  and  other  bodies  politic, 
or  religious  societies,  shall  at  all  times  have  the 
exclusive  right  of  electing  their  public  teachers, 
and  of  contracting  with  them  for  their  support  and 
maintenance.  All  moneys  paid  by  the  subject  to 
the  support  of  public  worship,  and  of  the  public 
teachers  aforesaid,  shall,  if  he  require  it,  be  uni- 
formly applied  to  the  support  of  the  public  teacher 
or  teachers  of  his  own  religious  sect  or  denomina- 
tion, provided  there  be  any,  upon  whose  instruction 
he  attends ;  otherwise  it  may  be  paid  toward  the 
support  of  the  teacher  or  teachers  of  the  parish  or 
precinct  in  which  said  moneys  are  raised. 

"And  every  denomination  of  Christians,  demean- 
ing themselves  peaceably,  and  as  good  subjects, 
shall  be  equally  under  the  protection  of  the  law ; 
and  no  subordination  of  any  sect  or  denomination 
to  another  shall  ever  be  established  by  law. " 

Notwithstanding  the  last-quoted  paragraph,  the 
Congregational  churches  were  in  effect  made  State 
establishments  by  this  constitution,  the  ministers* 
dues  being  collected  by  public  officers  known  as 
"Tithingmen."  The  State  Church  system  con- 
tinued in  full  operation  until  1815,  when  so-called 
dissenters  were  released  from  paying  taxes  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  Congregational  ministry,  and 
in  1833  the  involuntary  support  of  public  worship 


142  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

was  abolished  altogether,  after  a  most  vigorous 
controversy  between  those  who  opposed  and  those 
who  advocated  the  voluntary  system. 


CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  CONNECTICUT. 

In  Connecticut  it  was  provided  by  the  constitu- 
tion of  1818  that  "every  society  or  denomination  of 
Christians  "  should  have  power  and  authority  to  tax 
the  members  thereof  for  the  payment  of  the  min- 
istry, and  the  building  and  repairing  of  places  of 
worship,  but  a  member  of  any  religious  society 
might  escape  this  responsibility  by  separating  him- 
self therefrom  through  a  formaf  notice  given  in 
writing.  This  practically  put  an  end  to  the  obliga- 
tory maintenance  of  the  churches  in  that  State,  and 
the  Congregational  pulpits  had  to  depend,  like 
others,  upon  the  free  contributions  of  the  people. 


THE  MORMON  HIERARCHY. 

The  only  State  Church  system  which  has  existed 
within  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  in 
any  part  of  the  United  States  has  been  that  of  the 
Mormon  Church  in  Utah.  This  organization  for 
years  held  absolute  power  over  the  lives  and  prop- 
erty of  the  people  of  Utah,  violating  the  United 
States  laws  by  polygamous  marriage,  and  attempt- 
ing to  override  the  authority  of  United  States  offi- 
cers. It  was  not  until  about  twenty  years  ago  that 
the  legislative  branch  of  the  government  began  to 
take  vigorous  action  against  the  Mormon  hierarchy 
and  system,  and  the  struggle  lasted  until  the  public 
surrender,  in  September,  1890,  of  the  church 
authorities,  President  Woodruff,  head  of  the 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  143. 

Church,  then  announcing  by  a  proclamation  and 
in  conference  that  the  Mormons  accepted  the 
United  States  law  prohibiting  polygamy.  The 
conflict  had  been  attended  by  an  extraordinary 
exertion  of  the  powers  of  this  government.  The 
disfranchisement  of  polygamists,  under  the 
Edmunds  bill  of  1882,  was  undoubtedly  the 
blow  that  stunned  the  hierarchy,  and  paralyzed 
opposition.  A  singular  feature  of  Mormonism  was 
that  women  were  invited  by  admission  to  the  suf- 
frage to  share  in  maintaining  their  own  degrada- 
tion ;  but  the  Edmunds  bill  struck  at  females  as 
well  as  males,  who  shared  in  the  polygamous 
relation.  The  admission  of  Utah  as  a  State  is 
expected  by  many  who  have  studied  the  conditions 
there  to  revive  the  despotism  of  the  hierarchy, 
although  polygamy  is  probably  dead  beyond  resur- 
rection. The  law  of  Congress  providing  for  admis- 
sion made  it  a  condition  "that  perfect  toleration 
of  religious  sentiment  shall  be  secured,  and  no 
inhabitant  of  said  State  shall  ever  be  molested  in 
person  or  property  on  account  of  his  or  her  mode 
of  religious  worship.  Provided,  That  polygamous 
or  plural  marriages  are  forever  prohibited."  It  is 
already  reported  that  the  Mormon  Church  author- 
ities are  assuming  a  dictatorial  attitude,  as  if  they 
meant  to  take  the  reins  of  the  new  State  in  their 
grasp. 


RELIGIOUS  STATISTICS. 

The  first  successful  effort  to  compile  religious 
statistics  for  a  Federal  census  was  in  1890.  Mr. 
H.  K.  Carroll,  LIv.  D.,  was  appointed  by  Robert 
P.  Porter,  Superintendent  of  the  Eleventh  Census, 
to  take  the  census  of  the  churches,  and  his  work 
was  the  first  effectual  effort  of  the  government  in 
this  direction.  In  1850,  1860  and  1870  religious- 


144  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

statistics  were  gathered  by  United  States  marshals 
or  their  agents.  In  the  census  of  1850  and  1860 
three  items  only  were  given,  namely,  churches, 
church  accommodations  and  value  of  church  prop- 
erty. In  1870  a  distinction  was  made  between 
churches  or  church  societies  and  church  edifices, 
thus  making  an  additional  item.  In  1880  large 
preparations  were  made  for  a  census  which  should 
not  only  be  thorough,  but  exhaustive  in  the  num- 
ber of  its  inquiries.  A  vast  mass  of  detailed 
information  was  obtained,  but  the  appropriations 
were  exhausted  before  it  was  tabulated,  and  the 
results  were  wholly  lost.  Mr.  Carroll  determined 
to  make  the  scope  of  the  inquiry  broad  enough  to 
embrace  the  necessary  items  of  information,  and 
narrow  enough  to  insure  success  in  collecting,  tab- 
ulating and  publishing  them  ;  and  to  devise  a 
method  of  collecting  the  statistics  which  would 
serve  the  ends  of  accuracy,  completeness  and 
promptness.  It  was  in  some  sense  to  be  a  pioneer 
effort,  and  the  plan  and  methods  adopted  were 
designed  to  bring  success  within  the  range  of  pos- 
sibility. The  method  of  gathering  the  statistics  was 
to  make  the  presbytery,  the  classis,  the  association, 
the  synod,  the  diocese,  the  conference,  etc.,  the 
unit  in  the  division  of  the  work,  and  to  ask  the 
clerk  or  moderator,  or  statistical  secretary  cf  each 
to  obtain  the  desired  information  from  the  churches 
belonging  to  the  presbytery,  association  or  diocese, 
as  the  case  might  be.  This  officer  received  full 
instructions  how  to  proceed,  and  sufficient  supplies 
of  circulars,  schedules,  etc.,  to  communicate  with 
each  church.  This  method  proved  to  be  quite 
practicable  and  very  satisfactory,  although,  in  all 
probability,  the  figures  given  were  in  some  instances 
exaggerated.  The  most  flagrant  instance  of  exag- 
geration was  in  connection  with  a  Chinese  temple 
in  New  York  city,  which  claimed  7000  worshipers, 
whereas  the  whole  State  of  New  York  has  a  Chinese 
population  of  less  than  3000.  The  riddle  was  no 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  145 

doubt  correctly  solved  by  the  assumption  that  7000 
was  the  number  worshiping  in  the  same  temple  in 
the  course  of  a  year,  the  same  individuals  being, 
counted  many  times. 


THE  VARIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 

Mr.  Carroll  afterward  published  a  summary  of 
his  work,  in  which  it  was  perhaps  hardly  necessary 
to  say  that  the  Church  has  no  claim  on  the  State, 
and  the  State  no  claim  on  any  church.  That  has 
happily  been  the  case  ever  since  the  final  severance 
of  the  Congregational  faith  from  State  support  in 
New  England.  It  is  of  interest  to  observe  that 
many  of  the  143  religious  denominations  differ  only 
in  name.  Without  a  single  change  in  doctrine  or 
polity,  the  seventeen  Methodist  bodies  could  be 
reduced  to  three  or  four  ;  the  twelve  Presbyterian 
to  three  ;  the  twelve  Mennonite  to  two,  and  so  on. 
Of  the  distinction  between  evangelical  and  non- 
evangelical  churches  Mr.  Carroll  says  that  "the 
evangelical  churches  are  those  which  hold  to  the 
inspiration,  authority  and  sufficiency  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  Trinity,  the  deity  of  Christ,  justification 
by  faith  alone,  and  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
the  conversion  and  sanctification  of  the  sinner. 
The  non -evangelical  churches  are  those  which  take 
a  rationalistic  view  of  the  deity  of  Christ  and  the 
doctrines  of  grace,  of  which  the  Unitarians  may  be 
taken  as  an  example.  There  are  some  denomina- 
tions which  have  the  word  evangelical  in  their  title, 
and  yet  are  thoroughly  rationalistic,  and  therefore 
non-evangelical.  Practically  we  may  distinguish 
as  evangelical  all  those  bodies  which  are  members 
of  the  general  organization  known  as  the  Evangeli- 
cal Alliance,  or  in  harmony  with  its  articles  of 
faith ;  and  as  non-evangelical  all  other  Protestant 
bodies."  The  vast  majority  of  Protestants  are  in 


146  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  evangelical  denominations,  the  number  of  com- 
municants being  13  869,483,  as  against  132, 992  non- 
evangelical  communicants.  It  should  be  men- 
tioned, however,  that  Mr.  Carroll  counts  the 
Universalists  as  evangelical.  They  number  49, 194 
communicants.  The  most  numerous  Protestant 
denomination  are  the  Methodist,  with  4.589,284 
communicants ;  the  Baptists  coming  next,  with 
3.717,969  ;  the  Presbyterians  following,  with  1,278,- 
332,  and  the  Lutherans  with  1,231,072.  It  may  be 
news  to  many  that  the  denomination  known  as 
"The  Disciples  of  Christ"  outnumber  the  two 
great  creeds  which  were  once  rivals  for  religious 
control  in  the  British  portion  of  America,  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ  numbering  641,051,  the  Protestant 
Episcopalians  540,509,  and  the  Congregationalists 
512.771.  The  number  of  Roman  Catholics  is  given 
as  6,257.871.  As  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
always  gives  in  its  published  annual  statistics  the 
number  of  baptized  members,  or  population,  instead 
of  communicants,  the  census  appointee  in  each 
diocese  was  requested  to  comply  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  census  schedules  and  furnish  the 
number  of  communicants,  in  order  that  the  statis- 
tics of  all  the  denominations  might  be  uniform. 
This  was  done  in  every  case.  According  to  informa- 
tion received  from  bishops,  it  is  the  custom  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  for  baptized  persons  to 
make  their  first  communion  between  the  ages  of  9 
and  1 1  years.  Baptized  persons  below  the  age  of  9 
years  are  not  included,  therefore,  in  the  census 
returns.  Nevertheless  I  do  not  think  that  even 
this  restriction  gives  a  fair  opportunity  for  com- 
paring the  number  of  those  adhering  to  the  Prct- 
estant  denominations  with  the  numbers  adhering  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  It  would  probably  be 
safe  to  double  the  number  of  Protestants,  and  to 
add  about  15  per  cent.,  as  suggested,  Mr.  Carroll 
says,  by  some  ecclesiastical  authorities,  to  the 
number  of  Roman  Catholics. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  147 

NON-ORTHODOX  BODIES. 

So-called  non-orthodox  bodies  are  not  numerous 
as  compared  with  the  vast  multitudes  of  Protestants 
and  Roman  Catholics.  When  the  prominence  of 
the  Jews  in  trade  and  commerce,  and  in  the  daily 
life  of  our  great  cities  is  considered,  it  is  surprising 
to  learn  that  they  are  out-numbered  by  the  Latter 
Day  Saints,  or  Mormons,  the  Mormon  Church  hav- 
ing 166,125  communicants,  and  the  Jewish  130,496. 
The  Theosophists,  of  whom  we  have  heard  so  much, 
number  only  695.  The  proportion  of  Chinese  idol- 
aters is  not  given,  owing  to  the  manifest  inaccuracy 
of  the  figures  returned,  and  Mr.  Carroll  apparently 
did  not  meddle  with  the  fascinating  and  antique 
mysticism  of  the  Zunis.  The  Salvation  Army, 
which  has  done  and  is  doing  such  admirable  work 
both  in  England  and  America,  is  represented  in 
nearly  every  part  of  the  Union,  however  remote, 
and  it  is  to  be  noted  with  regret  that  local  authori- 
ties in  some  parts  of  the  country  still  show  intoler- 
ance toward  the  Army's  efforts.  Besides  the  better 
known  denominations  there  are  the  Dunkards,  the 
Bible  Brethren  and  other  sects,  of  whom  but  little 
is  heard  by  the  world  at  large. 


SUCCESS  OF  THE  VOLUNTARY  SYSTEM. 

Judging  from  the  experience  of  the  United  States 
the  voluntary  system  has  achieved  a  success  never 
paralleled  by  the  State -supported  hierarchies  of  the 
Old  World,  and  religion  still  has  a  hold  upon  the 
heart  and  conscience  of  man  as  potent  as  in  the  days 
of  Paul  and  Augustine,  of  Luther  and  of  Savonarola, 


148  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

PART  IX. 
CITIZENSHIP  AND  SUFFRAGE. 

THE  CITIZEN'S  OBLIGATIONS  AND  RIGHTS. 

A  citizen  is  a  member  of  the  State.  Citizenship 
carries  with  it  certain  obligations  which  cannot  be 
avoided,  and  certain  rights  which  cannot  be  denied. 
The  obligations  are  allegiance  to  the  State  and 
obedience  to  its  laws ;  the  rights  are  to  the  State's 
protection  at  home  and  abroad  while  engaged  in 
lawful  undertakings,  and  to  the  privileges  and  im- 
munities guaranteed  by  the  fundamental  law. 
These  obligations  and  rights  are  absolute  and  in- 
herent in  citizenship.  The  citizen  can  be  discharged 
from  his  obligations  only  by  a  change  of  allegiance 
in  accordance  with  treaties  entered  into  by  the 
United  States  with  other  powers,  and  permitting 
such  change  ;  the  State  can  never  divest  itself  of 
the  duty  to  protect  its  citizens.  Citizenship  does 
not  carry  with  it  any  political  power.  The  citizen 
may  be  a  helpless  infant,  a  disfranchised  woman,  or 
a  full-fledged  elector.  All  these  are  equally  citizens, 
and  their  rights  are  identical,  although  only  one 
of  them  has  a  share  in  the  government  of  the  Re- 
public. 

The  difference  between  an  American  elector  and 
the  subject  of  a  European  power,  like  England, 
the  German  empire,  or  Italy,  is  that  the  voting 
citizen  here  has  a  part  in  all  the  government ; 
there  his  vote  deals  only  with  a  section  of  the 
government.  In  England  the  ballot  cannot  reach 
the  throne  ;  in  Germany  its  limit  is  the  Reichstag ; 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  I4<> 

in  the  United  States  the  head  of  the  State  is  tlie 
creature  of  the  ballot-box.  When  Benjamin  Dis- 
raeli, in  the  British  Parliament  spoke  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  as  the  sovereign  of  the  United  States  he 
was  correctly  reminded  that  the  American  people 
were  the  sovereigns  of  the  United  States.  The 
American  voter  is  a  sovereign  in  the  fullest  sense. 
He  appoints  his  rulers,  and  he  has  the  power  to 
change,  through  the  medium  of  constitutional 
forms,  the  laws  which  guide  and  control  their  con- 
duct. Through  the  same  agency  he  extends  or 
restricts  the  franchise.  He  may  be  as  poor  as  Job 
robbed  of  his  possessions,  but  in  the  ballot  he 
wields  a  sceptre  more  powerful  than  that  of  Charle- 
magne, over  an  empire  more  extensive  than  that  of 
Augustus.  He  has  far  better  reason  to  be  proud 
than  the  Roman  citizen,  who  so  highly  prized  the 
privilege  of  living  under  the  aegis  of  the  Caesars. 


VOTING  is  A  PRIVILEGE. 

Although  the  "  right  to  vote  "  is  a  common  ex- 
pression, the  fact  is  exemplified  throughout  Amer- 
ican history  that  voting  is  a  privilege  and  not  a 
right.  About  one-half  of  the  total  number  of 
adult  citizens  of  the  United  States  are  debarred 
from  the  franchise  on  account  of  their  sex,  while 
large  numbers  are  denied  a  share  in  the  suffrage  on 
the  ground  of  ignorance,  or  for  other  reasons  not 
prohibited  by  the  Federal  Constitution.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  some  of  the  States,  aliens  are  per- 
mitted to  vote,  provided  they  have  declared  their 
intention  to  become  citizens — an  extraordinary- 
condition  of  affairs,  making  it  possible  for  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  to  be  selected— of  course 
through  the  agency  of  the  Electoral  college — by 
the  votes  of  British,  German  or  Russian  subjects. 
•The  privilege  of  voting  is,  therefore,  even  in  this 


r.so  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

advanced  age,  not  bestowed  according  to  any  uni- 
versal rule,  and  is  obviously  not  recognized  as  one 
of  the  rights  secured  by  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. In  the  beginning  of  the  Republic  in- 
deed, and  until  a  period  within  the  lifetime  of 
many  now  living,  the  principle  was  generally  recog- 
nized in  legislation  that  the  voter  ought  to  have  an 
individual  interest  in  real  estate — that  he  ought  to 
be  a  taxpayer,  and  that  in  casting  his  ballot  for 
public  officers  he  should  feel  that  he  was  choosing 
men  who  were  to  use  his  personal  means  for  the 
public  welfare.  Even  Pennsylvania  confined  the 
suffrage  to  white  taxpayers,  notwithstanding  the 
witty  query  of  Benjamin  Franklin  as  to  whether  a 
man  v,*ho  was  permitted  to  vote  because  he  owned 
an  ass  was  any  less  qualified  if  he  lost  the  animal. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that,  although  the  Eastern 
States — that  term  being  used  in  its  broadest  mean- 
ing—are commonly  looked  upon  as  the  fountain  of 
intelligence  and  enlightenment,  manhood  suffrage 
found  its  anchor  in  the  West,  and  from  thence  re- 
acted upon  the  East,  just  as  woman  suffrage  is  re- 
peating that  history  to-day.  The  reason  for  this  is 
obvious.  Men  were  valued  as  men  in  the  new  States, 
and  the  arm  that  could  hold  a  rifle  or  wield  an  axe 
was  too  important  to  be  measured  on  a  Procrustean 
"bed  of  property  qualification.  Inducements,  too, 
had  to  be  held  out  for  immigrants,  and  what  better 
inducement  to  the  disfranchised  citizen  struggling 
with  poverty  in  the  East  than  the  prospect  of  pros- 
perity and  enfranchisement  ia  the  West  ?  This  influ- 
ence of  equality,  irrespective  of  property,  gradually 
"  backed  water,"  if  I  may  so  express  it,  upon  the 
older  communities,  until  State  after  State  removed 
property  restrictions,  so  far  as  the  white  population 
was  concerned.  For  the  colored  people,  even  in 
most  of  the  Northern  States,  these  restrictions  con- 
tinued until  during  or  after  the  war. 

The  subject  of  colored  suffrage  brings  up  an  in- 
cident of  history  worthy  of  being  recalled.  When, 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  151 

in  the  early  part  of  the  century,  the  question  of 
admitting  colored  men  to  the  franchise  was  under 
discussion  in  the  legislature  at  Albany,  the  prop- 
osition was  objected  to  on  the  ground  that  the 
wealthy  families  of  New  York  city  would  be  able 
to  exert  an  undue  influence  in  city  and  State  affairs 
through  the  votes  of  their  colored  servants.  To 
Americans  of  to-day  the  objection  mentioned,  and 
which  was  most  seriously  debated,  may  appear 
grotesque,  but  to  the  people  of  that  day  it  had  no 
doubt  just  as  grave  and  important  an  aspect  as 
some  of  the  problems  which  agitators  of  our  own 
generation  consider  to  be  portentous  of  trouble  for 
the  Republic.  The  truth  is  that  the  issue  of  the 
colored  coachmen  which  so  excited  our  fathers 
was  no  more  imaginary  and  illusory  than  some 
political  spectres  which  loom  up  to-day  against  the 
twilight  sky  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  nation 
has  much  greater  vitality  than  many  short-sighted 
people  suppose,  and  will  not  be  diverted  from  the 
highway  of  progress  by  difficulties  real  or  unreal. 


QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  VOTING. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  more  than  mention 
the  religious  qualification  for  the  franchise  which 
existed  in  certain  American  colonies.  That 
passed  away  with  the  colonial  period,  and  the  sub- 
ject is  dealt  with  in  the  article  on ' '  Religion. "  The 
ownership  of  property  generally  ceased  to  be  a 
requisite  for  voting  in  the  Northern  States  before 
the  late  civil  war.  In  the  older  States  of  the  South, 
exclusive  of  Georgia,  the  property  qualification 
was  maintained,  Georgia  having  been  controlled 
in  the  direction  of  liberality  by  the  same  influences 
which  affected  the  newer  States,  both  South  and 
North.  Her  extensive  territory  needed  develop- 
ment, and  her  people  wisely  provided  that  no 


152  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

restrictions  should  be  imposed  upoii  white  settlers 
as  to  their  political  privileges .  For  similar  reasons 
Alabama,  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Arkan- 
sas, Texas,  and  Florida,  extended  full  civic  privi- 
leges to  the  white  man.  Tennessee  rather  queerly 
provided  that  colored  men  should  not  be  required 
to  perform  military  duty  in  time  of  peace.  The 
Southern  constitutions  which  denied  civil  rights  to 
the  negro  seemed,  however,  to  recognize  that  he 
was  a  citizen,  although  aslaveiu  the  very  language 
of  the  denial.  They  also  recognized  that  slavery 
was  not  a  question  of  color,  the  statement  that 
"every  free  white  male  citizen"  could  vote, 
clearly  admitting  both  that  white  men  could  be 
slaves  and  that  slaves  were  citizens.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting fact  that  the  original  constitution  of  North 
Carolina  did  not  exclude  free  negroes  from  the 
suffrage,  and  that  this  condition  of  affairs  con- 
tinued until  1836,  when  an  amendment  was  adopted 
providing  that  "no  free  negro,  free  mulatto,  or 
free  person  of  mixed  blood,  descended  from  negro 
ancestors  to  the  fourth  generation  in  elusive  (though 
one  ancestor  of  each  generation  may  have  been  a 
white  person),  shall  vote  for  members  of  the  Senate 
or  House  of  Commons."  There  is  no  doubt  that 
slavery  in  the  South  was  not  wholly  dependent  on 
color,  and  this  recalls  the  fact  that  not  long  before 
the  war  articles  appeared  in  Southern  newspapers 
urging  the  enslavement  of  white  mechanics  and 
laborers.  The  civil  war  made  American  slavery 
historical,  and  led  to  the  suffrage  conditions  which 
prevail  to-day. 

Rhode  Island  alone,  among  all  the  States  of  the 
Union,  maintained  a  property  qualification  for 
foreign  born  citizens  until  about  six  years  ago, 
soldiers  of  alien  birth  who  had  fought  gallantly  in 
the  war  for  the  Union  being  denied  the  privilege 
of  voting  unless  they  owned  real  estate.  It  was 
this  that  led  the  writer  to  indite  the  following  lines 
on  the  Soldiers'  Monument  in  Providence,  which 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  153 

appeared  about  seven  years  ago  in  one  of  the  lead- 
ing New  York  newspapers : 

"  Aloft  above  the  busy  square, 
Behold  the  list  of  heroes  there, 
Whose  life-blood  crimsoned  Southern  sand 
From  Roanoke  to  Rio  Grande — 
And  there,  above,  Columbia's  form ; 
In  summer  sun  and  winter  storm, 
With  wreath  in  hand  and  pensive  head 
She  mourns  and  crowns  her  warriors  dead ! 


"  I  read  the  names  of  many  there, 
Familiar  as  New  England  air — 
Names  that  have  rung  the  ages  down 
From  landing-year  at  Plymouth  town ; 
That  rallied  to  the  bugle  call 
At  Louisburg  and  Montreal, 
And  swelled  the  Continental  roll 
From  Bunker  Hill  to  Newburg's  goal. 

"  And  these  again — of  stranger  sound — 
This  cannot  be  their  native  ground — 
No ;  born  upon  a  foreign  strand, 
They  heard  of  this  God- favored  land, 
And,  scorning  rule  of  king  and  peer, 
They  sought  the  rights  of  manhood  here ; 
For  us  they  died — what  more  could  be 
Their  proof  of  faith  and  loyalty. 

"  And  these  Rhode  Island's  helots  were ; 
Denied  the  freeman's  right  to  share ; 
Denied  the  ballot's  sacred  trust, 
Because,  forsooth,  of  native  dust 
They  owned  no  part;  yet,  side  by  side 
With  native-born  they  fought  and  died  ; 
And  from  that  monument  proclaim 
Rhode  Island's  glory  and  her  shame.'* 


154  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

WOMAN    SUFFRAGE. 

At  the  present  time  manhood  suffrage,  restricted 
in  some  of  the  States  by  the  payment  of  a  personal 
tax,  and  in  other  States  by  an  educational  qualifi- 
cation, is  the  rule  throughout  the  United  States. 
Women  are  endowed  with  full  voting  privileges  in 
the  States  of  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Montana  *  and 
Utah.  The  advocates  of  woman  suffrage  organized 
a  vigorous  campaign  in  1894  to  obtain  from  the 
New  York  Constitutional  Convention  an  indorse- 
ment of  their  cause.  They  appreciated  that  suc- 
cess in  the  Empire  State  would  probably  have  a 
decisive  influence  throughout  the  United  States. 
Probably  the  most  favorable  symptom  for  woman 
suffrage  was  the  antagonism  which  it  evoked.  For 
the  first  time  in  New  York  State  the  opposition  was 
earnest,  anxious  and  resolute.  The  woman  suffrage 
cause,  however,  although  most  ably  presented,  had 
no  prospect  of  success  in  the  Convention.  On  July 
18,  1894,  the  suffrage  committee  voted  unanimously 
(17  to  o)  against  all  the  main  proposals  to  give 
suffrage  to  women  ;  among  these  were  a  motion  to 
permit  women  to  vote  on  all  questions  relating  to 
schools,  excise,  or  taxes ;  a  motion  to  authorize  the 
^Legislature  to  confer  on  women  the  right  of  suf- 
frage: a  motion  to  permit  women  owning  property 
to  vote ;  a  motion  authorizing  women  to  vote  on 
the  question  whether  they  shall  become  voters  ;  and 
a  motion  authorizing  a  similar  vote  by  both  men 
and  women.  Various  other  motions  in  committee 
•were  defeated  by  large  majorities.  On  August  8 
the  suffrage  committee  reported  adversely  all  the 
amendments  except  that  relating  toschool  suffrage. 
The  convention,  however,  proceeded  to  debate  a 
motion  providing  for  a  double  submission  of  the 
question — once  to  see  if  the  amendment  for  woman 

*In  Montana  women  who  pay  taxes  vote  on  the  same  terms 
as  men. 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  155 

suffrage  should  be  submitted  in  1895,  and  once  to 
obtain  a  vote  on  the  amendment  itself.  On  August 
15  this  motion  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  97  to  58, 
and  woman  suffrage  had  no  further  consideration 
in  the  convention.  The  people  of  Massachusetts 
rejected  woman  suffrage  at  the  election  held  in 
November,  1895. 

Kansas  has  bestowed  on  women  the  right  to  vote 
in  municipal  elections,  and  twenty-three  States 
have  conferred  school  suffrage  on  women. 


SECRET  VOTING — THE  AUSTRALIAN  SYSTEM. 

Secret  voting  has  always  been  the  practice  in 
this  country,  and  was  the  rule  in  the  New  England 
colonies,  except  when  the  voting  was  done  in  open 
town  meeting  by  show  of  hands.  The  custom  of 
open  voting  in  town  meeting  still  prevails  in  New 
England  towns  when  a  ballot  is  not  demanded. 
While  under  the  old  system  the  voting  by  ballot 
was  professedly  secret,  it  was  in  fact  impossible  or 
almost  impossible  for  the  voter  to  conceal  his 
choice.  For  instance,  it  was  the  custom  in  some 
places  for  one  party  or  faction  to  have  ballots  of  a 
different  color  from  those  of  the  other  party.  I 
have  seen  one  party  with  coffee-colored,  and  the 
other  using  white  ballots.  The  object  was  evident 
— to  know  whether  the  voter,  bought  with  money 
or  bound  by  intimidation,  voted  as  he  was  expected 
to  vote.  Even  where  the  law  required  white  bal- 
lots of  similar  size  and  appearance  it  was  easily 
evaded.  Hence  the  introduction  of  the  Australian 
ballot  system,  so-called  because  devised  and  first 
used  in  Australia.  This  system,  with  modifications, 
has  been  adopted  in  New  York,  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  Maine,  New  Jersey,  Indiana,  Rhode 
Island  and  other  States.  It  insures  absolute 
secrecy  for  the  voter.  Each  voter  is  provided  with 


156  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

a  ballot  or  set  of  ballots  printed  at  the  public  ex- 
pense and  handed  to  him  by  the  election  officers. 
The  ballot  or  ballots  contain  the  names  of  all  the 
candidates  for  the  office  for  which  the  vote  is  to  be 
cast.  The  polls  being  open  the  voter  enters  and 
gives  his  name  and  address.  An  examination  of 
the  registry  ascertains  his  right  to  vote.  An  elec- 
tion officer  hands  him  the  ballot  or  ballots,  and  he 
enters  a  booth,  the  door  of  which  he  closes  after 
him,  and  there  selects  and  folds  his  ballot,  if  there 
are  several,  or  makes  a  mark  against  the  candidates 
he  prefers,  if  it  is  a  single  or  blanket  ballot,  or 
writes  in  a  name,  if  he  prefers  to  vote  for  a  per- 
son not  in  the  official  list  of  candidates.  The  bal- 
lot is  so  folded  that  there  is  no  revelation  of  its 
contents  until  it  is  opened,  after  the  close  of  the 
polls,  for  the  purpose  of  counting.  Each  voter  is 
allowed  a  certain  time — not  usually  exceeding  ten 
minutes — in  a  booth  to  prepare  his  ballot.  If  physi- 
cally disabled,  or  illiterate,  he  can  obtain  assistance, 
upon  giving  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  applica- 
tion is  made  in  good  faith.  No  solicitation  of 
voters  near  the  polls  is  permitted  ;  neither  is  the 
voter  permitted  to  state  at  the  polling-place  how  he 
has  voted.  A  more  technical  description  of  the 
system  might  be  given,  but  the  above  includes  all 
features  of  importance.  A  somewhat  peculiar  law 
has  recently  been  enacted  in  New  York  requiring 
voters,  upon  registration,  to  give  their  weight, 
height,  etc.,  and  authorizing  mention  in  the  regis- 
tration book  of  any  unusual  external  marks — the 
object  being  to  prevent  fraudulent  voting. 


NATURALIZED  CITIZENS. 

Naturalized  citizens  have  the  same  voting  privi- 
leges as  citizens  of  native  origin,  except  that,  under 
the  recently  adopted  Constitution  of  the  State  of 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  157 

New  York,  no  citizen  naturalized  within  ninety 
days  preceding  any  election  can  vote  at  such  elec- 
tion. An  alien  seeking  naturalization  as  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States  must  declare  on  oath  before  a 
Circuit  or  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  or  a 
District  or  Supreme  Court  of  the  Territories,  or  a 
court  of  record  of  any  of  the  States  having  common 
law  jurisdiction  and  a  seal  and  a  clerk,  at  least  two 
years  before  his  admission  that  it  is,  bona-fide,  his 
intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  renounce  forever  all  allegiance  and  fidelity 
to  any  foreign  State  or  ruler,  and  particularly  to  the 
one  of  which  he  may  be  at  the  time  a  citizen  or 
subject.  At  the  time  of  his  application  for  admis- 
sion he  must  also  declare  on  oath,  before  some  one 
of  the  courts  above  specified,  "that  he  will  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  that  he 
absolutely  and  entirely  renounces  and  abjures  all 
allegiance  and  fidelity  to  every  foreign  prince,  po- 
tentate, State  or  sovereignty,  and  particularly,  by 
name,  to  the  prince,  potentate,  State  or  sovereignty 
of  which  he  was  before  a  citizen  or  subject." 

It  must  appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  to 
which  the  alien  has  applied  for  final  admission  that 
he  has  resided  continuously  within  the  United 
States  for  at  least  five  years,  and  in  the  State  or 
Territory  where  the  court  is  held  at  least  one  year, 
and  that  during  that  time  "he  has  behaved  as  a 
man  of  good  moral  character,  attached  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
well  disposed  to  the  good  order  and  happiness  of 
the  same."  If  the  applicant  bears  any  hereditary 
title  or  belongs  to  any  order  of  nobility,  he  must 
make  an  express  renunciation  at  the  time  of  his 
application. 

Any  alien  twenty-one  years  old  and  upward  who 
has  been  honorably  discharged  from  the  armies  of 
the  United  States  may  become  a  citizen  on  his 
petition,  without  any  previous  declaration  of  inten- 
tion, provided  he  has  resided  in  the  United  States 


158  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

at  least  one  year  previous  to  his  application  and  is 
of  good  moral  character.  Any  alien  who  has  re- 
sided in  the  United  States  three  years  next  pre- 
ceding his  twenty-first  birthday,  and  has  continued 
to  reside  therein  up  to  the  time  he  makes  applica- 
tion to  be  admitted  a  citizen,  may,  after  he  arrives 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  after  he  has  resided 
five  years  within  the  United  States,  including  the 
three  years  of  his  minority,  be  admitted  a  citizen  ; 
but  he  must  make  a  declaration  on  oath  and  prove 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  that  for  the  two 
years  next  preceding  it  has  been  his  bona-fide  in- 
tention to  become  a  citizen. 

The  children  of  persons  who  have  been  duly  nat- 
uralized, being  under  twenty-one  at  the  time  of  the 
naturalization  of  their  parents,  are,  if  dwelling  in 
the  United  States,  to  be  considered  as  citizens.  The 
children  of  persons  who  now  are  or  have  been 
citizens  of  the  United  States  are  considered  as  citi- 
zens, though  they  may  be  born  out  of  the  limits 
and  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 

The  naturalization  of  the  Chinese  is  prohibited 
by  Section  14,  Chapter  126,  Laws  of  1882. 

A  foreign-born  woman  who  marries  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  either  native  or  naturalized,  par- 
takes of  his  citizenship,  and  this  rule  applies  even, 
although  the  marriage  takes  place  and  the  parties 
reside  abroad.  In  the  same  way,  according  to 
Secretary  of  State  Hamilton  Fish,  "a  woman  who 
is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  merges  her  nation- 
ality in  that  of  a  foreign  husband  on  her  marriage  ; 
but  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  she  thus 
becomes  subject  to  all  the  disabilities  of  alienage, 
such  as  inability  to  inherit  or  transfer  real  prop- 
erty." In  case  of  legal  separation  from  her  hus- 
band the  wife  may  elect  whether  to  preserve  the 
foreign  nationality  acquired  by  her  marriage,  or 
re-acquire  her  former  American  citizenship.  Upon 
death  of  the  husband  the  former  citizenship  of  the 
wife  does  not  revert ;  she  must  do  some  act  by 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  15^ 

•which  to  work  a  change  in  her  nationality  if  she 
should  desire  to  do  so. 


RIGHTS  OF  CITIZENS  ABROAD. 

Section  2000  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 
United  States  expressly  declares  that  "  all  natural- 
ized citizens  of  the  United  States  while  in  foreign 
countries  are  entitled  to  and  shall  receive  from  this 
Government  the  same  protection  of  person  and 
property  which  is  accorded  to  native-born  citizens.'* 

While  the  statute  quoted  is  unqualified  in  its  lan- 
guage, it  is  qualified  by  common  sense  in  practice. 
A  citizen  abroad  should  exercise  the  same  prudence 
and  discretion  in  avoiding  trouble  for  his  country 
that  he  would  or  should  exercise  in  avoiding  trouble 
for  himself.  No  sensible  man  will  do  a  thing,  or 
assume  an  attitude  likely  to  bring  on  disturbance 
simply  because  he  has  a  legal  right  to  do  so.  Again 
there  comes  up  the  question  whether  the  American 
citizen  abroad  who  seeks  government  interference 
in  his  behalf  has  fulfilled  the  obligations  of  citizen- 
ship. Has  he  shown  a  disposition  to  share  the 
common  burdens  of  his  countrymen,  or  has  he  in- 
tentionally avoided  those  burdens,  and  therefore 
forfeited  all  equitable  claim  upon  the  American 
people  ?  These  are  questions  to  be  considered  and 
decided  by  the  executive  upon  any  appeal  for  pro- 
tection and  mediation  from  Americans  abroad.  For 
instance,  suppose  that  an  American  citizen  should 
have  taken  refuge  in  Canada  during  the  civil  war 
to  escape  the  draft,  and  continued  to  reside  there, 
it  would  be  an  extreme  case  indeed  that  would  call 
for  interference  in  behalf  of  such  a  person ;  and 
yet  when  that  extreme  is  reached,  the  duty  of  the 
United  States  to  protect  their  citizen  is  imperative 
and  could  not  be  neglected  without  a  sacrifice  of 
the  national  honor. 


160  HAND  BOOK  FOR 


PART  X. 


NATIONAL  PARTIES  AND  ADMINISTRA- 
TIONS. 


FEDERALISTS  AND  ANTI-FEDERALISTS. 

Two  parties  existed  in  the  United  States  when 
the  Federal  Constitution  was  adopted — those  who 
favored  and  those  who  opposed  a  strong  central 
government.  The  former  were  known  as  Federal- 
ists ;  the  latter  as  Anti-Federalists.  Washington, 
with  Alexander  Hamilton  and  the  elder  Adams, 
guided  the  Federalists,  although  it  should  be 
needless  to  say  that  no  narrow  partisanship  found 
lodgment  in  the  breast  of  Washington.  He  was  a 
Federalist  simply  because  he  believed  in  making  the 
Union  powerful  and  perpetual.  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  James  Madison  led  the  Anti-Federalists,  who 
supported  State's  rights  and  a  liberty  of  speech  and 
action  which  the  Federalists  regarded  as  danger- 
ous, and  which  they  sought  to  suppress  by  despotic 
legislation.  The  Anti-Federalists,  who  afterward 
took  the  name  of  Republicans,  sympathized  with 
the  French  Revolutionists.  The  Federalists  either 
believed,  like  Washington,  in  keeping  strictly  apart 
from  Europe's  quarrels,  or  they  leaned  to  Great 
Britain,  so  far  as  they  had  any  preference  between 
the  English  and  the  French.  When  the  excesses 
of  the  French  Revolution  had  thrown  a  certain 
degree  of  odium  upon  its  supporters,  the  Anti-Fed- 
eralists or  Republicans  were  stigmatized  by  their 
opponents  as  Democrats.  The  name,  given  as  a 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  i6r 

reproach,  was  soon  adopted;  and  the  party  of 
Jefferson  and  Jackson  called  itself  Democratic 
Republican,  and  its  members  were  usually  called 
Democrats.  The  name  of  Federalist  having  become 
unpopular  owing  to  the  opposition  of  the  party  to 
the  war  with  England,  the  Federalists  adopted  the 
designation  of  National  Republicans,  and  some 
years  later,  of  Whigs  Other  party  names  met 
with  in  American  political  writings  are  of  a  local, 
factional  or  temporary  character.  "  Bluelight 
Federalists"  was  a  name  given  to  those  who 
were  believed  to  have  made  friendly  signals  to 
British  ships  in  the  war  of  1812.  "Clintonians" 
and  "Bucktails"  were  old  factions  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  New  York.  "Barnburner"  was 
applied  as  a  term  of  reproach  to  a  section  of  the 
Democracy  known  as  ' '  Free  Soil ' '  Democrats,  who 
were  in  favor  of  excluding  slavery  from  the  Ter- 
ritories and  future  States  of  the  Union. 

The  contest  for  the  Presidency  in  1796,  was  be- 
tween the  two  parties.  Federal  and  Republican, 
and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  John  Adams  for  Pres- 
ident, and  Thomas  Jefferson  for  Vice-President, 
the  former  a  Federalist,  and  the  latter  a  Repub- 
lican. The  Federal  party  still  maintained  a  ma- 
jority in  both  branches  of  the  Fifth  Congress.  Two 
laws  were  passed  by  this  Congress,  known  in  his- 
tory as  the  "Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,"  the  enforce- 
ment of  which  caused  much  discontent.  The 
Federalists  had  a  majority,  in  the  Sixth  Congress, 
the  members  of  which  bad  been  chosen  before  the 
revolt  against  the  ' '  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws. ' ' 
With  the  election  of  Thomas  Jefferson  as  President 
the  Republicans  obtained  full  possession  of  the 
Government.  Up  to  Jefferson's  administration 
there  had  been  no  removals  from  office  for  political 
reasons.  He  claimed  as  a  right  of  his  party  a  due 
proportion  of  the  offices.  In  the  election  of  1804 
the  Federalists  were  again  defeated,  and  success,  as 
usual  led  to  jealousy  and  conflict  in  the  ranks  of 


162  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  victors.  Jefferson  was  elected  President  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  defeating  Aaron  Burr 
on  the  thirty-sixth  ballot.  About  the  begin- 
ning of  Madison's  first  administration  (1809)  the 
word  "Democrat,"  as  applied  to  the  Republicans, 
again  appeared,  but  the  name  as  that  of  a  great 
political  party,  was  not  fully  recognized  until  1832. 


THE  PRESENT  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY. 

With  the  first  administration  of  Jackson  began 
the  life  under  its  present  name,  of  the  Democratic 
party.  The  party  opposed  to  him  continued  to  be 
called  the  National  Republicans,  and  were  known 
by  this  name  when  they  met  in  national  conven- 
tion at  Baltimore,  in  December,  1831,  to  nominate 
Henry  Clay.  Jackson  was  re-nominated  in  the 
same  city,  in  March,  1832,  by  the  Democrats.  This 
contest  was  the  first  in  our  political  history  in 
which  the  parties  made  nominations  through  na- 
tional conventions.  This  period  is  also  memor- 
able on  account  of  the  birth  of  a  third  party, 
known  as  the  Anti-Masons,  who  in  their  call  for  a 
convention  at  Baltimore,  in  September,  1831,  an- 
nounced as  their  principle—  "  Opposition  to  Secret 
Societies."  They  made  William  Wirt,  of  Virginia, 
their  candidate,  and  carried  the  State  of  Vermont, 
with  its  seven  electoral  votes.  As  yet  party  plat- 
forms were  unknown,  but  the  National  Republicans 
favored  a  tariff,  internal  improvements,  renewal 
of  the  United  States  Bank  charter,  and  the  removal 
of  the  Cherokee  Indians.  About  this  time  the 
term,  "hard  money  party,"  began  to  be  applied  to 
the  Democrats.  Thomas  Benton,  and  others  of 
its  leaders,  denied  the  right  of  the  government, 
under  the  Constitution,  to  make  any  money  except 
gold  and  silver. 

For  the  contest  of  1836  the  Democrats  in  con- 
vention again  at  Baltimore  nominated  Martin  Van 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  163 

Buren  for  President,  and  Richard  M.  Johnson  for 
Vice-President.  The  opponents  of  that  party  about 
this  time  began  to  apply  the  epithet  "  Loco-Foco  " 
to  the  Democrats.  The  name  originated  from  an  in- 
cident which  transpired  at  a  noisy  public  meeting  in. 
New  York  City.  After  the  lights  had  been  put  out>. 
they  were  at  once  relighted  by  means  of  a  loco- 
foco  match,  by  one  of  the  members  of  the  dominant 
wing  of  the  party.  It  was  for  some  years  merely 
another  name  for  the  Democratic  party,  applied  by 
their  opponents,  the  Whigs.  The  Democrats  had 
previously,  in  a  spirit  of  derision,  applied  the  term 
"  Whig  "  to  the  National  Republicans.  This  name 
was  accepted  by  the  latter  party,  and  now  the  two- 
great  opposing  parties  became  known  as  Democrats- 
and  Whigs.  The  Whigs,  and  all  opposed  to  Van 
Buren,  united  on  William  Henry  Harrison,  but  the 
election  in  November,  1836,  resulted  in  a  majority 
of  the  Van  Buren  electors.  Van  Buren  came  to* 
the  Presidency  in  March,  1837,  on  the  eye  of  a 
financial  panic.  The  Whigs  at  Harrisburg  in  1840 
nominated  William  Henry  Harrison  for  President, 
and  John  Tyler  for  Vice-President.  The  Democrats 
nominated  at  Baltimore  Martin  Van  Buren  again  for 
President. 


THE  LIBERTY  PARTY. 

A  third  party  again  appeared  in  the  arena.  It 
was  styled  the  Abolition  or  Liberty  party,  and 
nominated  James  G.  Birney,  of  New  York,  for 
President,  Francis  Lamoyne,  of  Pennsylvania,  for 
Vice-President.  The  leading  principle  of  this  new 
party  may  be  inferred  from  its  name,  to-wit :  Op- 
position to  slavery.  The  Whigs  in  their  national 
convention  adopted  no  platform,  while  the  Demo- 
crats submitted  a  declaration  of  principles.  They 
declared  the  power  of  the  federal  government  to  De- 
limited; opposed  a  system  of  internal  improvements; 


164  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

proclaimed  that  "justice  and  sound  policy  for- 
bid the  government  to  foster  one  branch  of  in- 
dustry to  the  detriment  of  another,  or  one  section 
to  the  injury  of  another ;  "  urged  economy ; 
claimed  that  Congress  had  no  power  to  charter  a 
United  States  bank  ;  to  interfere  with  the  domestic 
institutions  of  the  States  ;  that  government  money 
must  be  separated  from  banking  institutions,  and 
that  this  country  is  the  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of 
all  nations.  Although,  as  stated,  the  Whigs  had 
adopted  no  platform,  they  joined  issue  on  the  gen- 
eral financial  policy  of  the  Van  Buren  administra- 
tion, including  the  position  of  the  Democratic 
party  on  the  tariff,  and  protection  to  the  industries 
of  the  country.  This  was  the  campaign  of  "Tip- 
pecanoe  and  Tyler  too,"  of  log  cabins,  coon  skins 
and  hard  cider.  Harrison  and  Tyler  were  triumph- 
antly elected,  and  the  Whigs  had  a  majority  in 
both  branches  of  Congress. 

The  Whigs  nominated  Henry  Clay  and  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen  in  1844,  and  the  Democrats  nom- 
inated James  K.  Polk  and  George  M.  Dallas.  Both 
parties  outlined  their  principles  in  platforms.  The 
Whigs  declared  for  a  well  regulated  national  cur- 
rency ;  a  tariff  for  revenue,  but  favoring  domestic 
industry ;  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales 
of  public  lands  ;  a  single  term  for  the  Presidency, 
and  reform  of  executive  usurpation.  The  Demo- 
crats reaffirmed  their  platform  of  1840,  and  added 
a  declaration  against  distribution  of  the  proceeds 
of  sales  of  public  lands  among  the  States,  a  resolu- 
tion sustaining  the  President  in  his  right  to  use  the 
qualified  veto,  and  one  declaring  that  Oregon, 
which  the  British  were  attempting  to  seize,  ought 
to  be  reoccupied,  and  Texas  annexed.  The  Liberty 
party  was  also  again  in  the  field  with  James  G. 
Birney  for  President,  and  Thomas  Morris  for  Vice- 
President.  The  seven  resolutions  of  its  platform 
all  related  to  slavery.  Between  the  two  great  par- 
ties, Whigs  and  Democrats,  the  leading  questions 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  165 

were  the  annexation  of  Texas  and  a  protective 
tariff.  Polk  and  Dallas  were  elected,  the  result 
being  determined  by  the  vote  of  New  York.  The 
most  important  events  of  this  administration  were 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  the  Mexican  War,  and 
the  adjustment  of  the  Oregon  boundary,  not  on  the 
line  of  "fifty-four  degrees,  forty  minutes  or  fight,'* 
but  on  the  line  of  forty-nine  degrees,  as  proposed 
by  John  C.  Calhoun  when  Secretary  of  State  in 
Tyler's  administration. 

In  1848  the  Democrats  nominated  Lewis  Cass,  of 
Michigan,  for  President,  and  William  O.  Butler,  of 
Kentucky,  for  Vice-President.  The  Whigs,  at  Phila- 
delphia, nominated  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor,  of 
Louisiana,  for  President,  and  Millard  Fillmore,  of 
New  York,  for  Vice-President.  The  Democratic 
platform  affirmed  that  of  1844  ;  congratulated  the 
country  on  the  result  of  the  Mexican  War ;  com- 
mended the  qualified  veto ;  denounced  a  tariff,  ex- 
cept for  revenue  ;  congratulated  the  Republic  of 
France,  and  endorsed  Polk's  administration.  The 
platform  hailed  "the  noble  impulse  given  to  the 
cause  of  free  trade  by  the  repeal  of  the  tarift  of 
1842,  and  the  creation  of  a  more  equal,  honest,  and 
productive  tariff  of  1846."  The  Whigs  did  not 
adopt  a  platform,  claiming  that  their  principles- 
were  well  known.  The  slavery  question  was  now 
agitating  the  country,  but  neither  of  the  great 
parties  was  ready  or  willing  to  commit  itself.  In 
the  Whig  convention  a  test  resolution  on  the  "  Wil- 
mot  Proviso  "  was  voted  down. 


FREE  Sori,  DEMOCRATS. 

A  third  party,  the  Free  Soil  Democrats,  also 
appeared  in  the  field,  with  Martin  Van  Buren 
for  President,  and  Charles  Francis  Adams  for 
Vice-President.  Their  opponents  called  them 


166  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

"Barnburners,"  and  so  named  them  in  allusion  to 
the  story  of  a  Dutch  farmer,  who,  it  was  said,  burned 
liis  barn  in  order  to  clear  it  of  rats  and  mice.  The 
*'  Barnburners"  were|  an  offshoot  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  mainly  confined  to  the  State  of 
New  York.  They  helped  to  carry  that  State  for 
Taylor,  and  thus  defeated  Cass.  The  Free  Soil 
Democrats,  or  "Barnburners,"  promulgated  a 
lengthy  platform,  but  its  essence  is  embraced  in 
the  watchword,  or  motto  which  they  adopted,  to- 
•wit:  "Free  Soil,  Free  Speech,  Free  Labor,  Free 
Men. "  The  old  Liberty  party  now  united  with  the 
"'Free  Soil  Democrats."  Taylor  and  Fillmore 
•were  elected,  but  the  Democrats  controlled  the 
Senate,  with  the  Free  Soilers  holding  the  balance 
of  power  in  the  House.  After  sixty-two  fruitless 
ballots,  Ho  well  Cobb,  of  Georgia,  a  slavery  exten- 
sionist,  was  elected  Speaker,  on  the  sixty-third 
ballot.  This  session  of  Congress  witnessed  the 
compromise  measures  of  1850  on  the  slavery  issue. 
President  Taylor  died  in  July  of  that  year,  and  the 
Whig  party  began  to  dissolve.  The  pro-slavery 
Whigs  now  favored  the  doctrine  which  was  after- 
ward known  by  the  name  of  squatter,  or  popular 
sovereignty.  They  would  leave  the  people  of  the 
Territories  to  decide  as  to  the  admission  of  slavery. 
Agitation  of  the  slavery  question  continued.  In 
1851  and  1852,  three  of  the  great  party  leaders — 
Calhoun,  Clay  and  Webster,  passed  away.  The 
Thirty-second  Congress,  which  met  in  December, 
1851,  was  Democratic  in  both  branches.  Fillmore 
"had  become  President  by  the  death  of  Taylor  in 
1850. 

In  1852,  again  at  Baltimore,  the  Democrats  nom- 
inated Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
William  R.  King,  of  Alabama.  A  Whig  National 
convention  in  the  same  city,  brought  out  General 
Winfield  Scott,  of  Virginia,  and  William  A.  *Gra- 
liam,  of  North  Carolina.  The  Democratic  platform 
said :  No  more  revenue  than  is  necessary  to  defray 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  167 

the  expenses  of  the  government ;  no  national 
banks ;  Congress  has  no  right  to  interfere  with,  or 
control  the  domestic  institutions  of  the  States ;  en- 
dorsement of  the  compromise  measures  of  1850. 
The  Whigs  *n  their  platform  stood  for  sufficient 
power  in  the  government  to  sustain  it  and  make 
it  operative ;  favored  revenue  from  tariff,  framed 
"  with  suitable  encouragement  to  American  in- 
dustry ; ' '  and  internal  improvements  ;  endorsed 
the  compromise  measures  of  1850,  including  the 
"Fugitive  Slave  Law."  In  August,  1852,  the 
"'Free  Soil  Democrats,"  as  they  called  themselves, 
in  a  national  convention  at  Pittsburg,  nominated 
John  P.  Hale,  of  New  Hampshire,  and  George  W. 
Julian,  of  Indiana.  They  repudiated  both  the 
other  political  parties,  and  declared  for  no  more 
slave  States,  no  slave  Territory,  no  national  slav- 
ery, and  no  legislation  for  the  extradition  of  slaves. 
The  six  resolutions  of  their  platform  all  related  to 
the  one  subject  of  slavery.  The  electoral  count 
showed  two  hundred  and  fifty- four  votes  for  Pierce 
and  King,  and  only  forty-two  for  Scott  and  Graham. 
The  Whig  party  then  ceased  to  exist.  The  Demo- 
cratic party  became  thoroughly  pro-slavery,  Presi- 
dent Pierce  committing  it  in  his  first  message  to  the 
compromise  measures.  The  Thirty-third  Congress 
opened  with  fourteen  Democratic  majority  in  the 
Senate,  and  seventy-four  over  all  opposition  in  the 
House. 


THIS  KNOW-NOTHING  PARTY. 

In  1852  appeared  the  secret  organization  com- 
monly known  in  history  as  the  "Know-Nothing  " 
party.  Its  members  were  silent  as  to  its  principles, 
and  hence  the  name.  Its  cardinal  principle,  as 
known  to  themselves,  was  expressed  in  their  motto 
— "Americans  must  rule  America."  Its  counter- 
sign was  "  Put  none  but  Americans  on  guard."  In 


168  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

1855  this  party  carried  nine  States  and  made  its 
power  felt  in  the  congressional  elections  of  that 
year.  It  elected  forty- three  members  of  the  House 
of  the  Thirty-fourth  Congress,  and  there  were  five 
Senators  of  the  party.  The  Know-Nothings  were 
the  first  to  nominate  national  candidates  in  1856. 
Their  convention  met  in  Philadelphia,  February  22, 
with  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  delegates 
present,  and  nominated  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New 
York,  and  Andrew  J.  Donelson,  of  Tennessee.  A 
number  of  anti-slavery  delegates  withdrew  from  the 
convention  on  account  of  its  failure  to  maintain  the 
right  of  Congress  to  re-establish  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise. 

The  Democrats  in  national  convention  at  Cin- 
cinnati, nominated  James  Buchanan  and  John  C. 
Breckinridge.  Their  platform  contained  several 
clauses  opposing  Americanism ;  advocating  the 
restriction  of  revenue  to  necessary  expenses  ;  favor- 
ing a  strict  construction  of  federal  powers  ;  against 
a  national  bank  ;  endorsing  squatter  sovereignty, 
and  approving  the  Kansas- Nebraska  bill. 


THK  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

Now  came  into  existence  the  Republican  party 
of  to-day.  The  free  States  were  aroused  at  last, 
and  at  a  grand  gathering  of  five  thousand  opponents 
of  slavery  the  name  "Republican  "  was  adopted  for 
the  new  party.  The  first  Republican  National 
convention  was  held  at  Philadelphia  in  June,  1856. 
The  nominees  for  President  and  Vice-President  were 
John  C.  Fremont  and  William  M.  Dayton.  The 
platform  declared  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union 
of  the  States ;  denied  the  right  of  Congress  to  give 
legal  existence  to  slavery  in  any  Territory  of  the 
United  States;  declared  that  Congress  ought  to 
prohibit  "those  twin  relics  of  barbarism,  polygamy 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  169 

and  slavery  ;  "  denounced  the  pro-slavery  policy  of 
the  Pierce  administration ;  demanded  the  admission 
of  Kansas,  with  her  free  State  Constitution  ;  favored 
government  aid  for  a  Pacific  railroad,  and  pro- 
nounced for  a  system  of  National  improvements. 
Buchanan  and  Breckinridge  had  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four  electoral  votes,  and  Fremont  and  Day- 
ton one  hundred  and  fourteen  electoral  votes. 
Fillmore,  the  "American"  candidate,  carried 
Maryland,  with  eight  electoral  votes. 


THE  DEMOCRATS  DIVIDE. 

In  April,  1860,  the  Democratic  national  conven- 
tion was  held  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and 
after  a  long  struggle  between  the  extreme  and  the 
moderate  pro-slavery  elements,  the  convention 
adjourned  without  making  nominations.  At  an- 
other convention  held  in  Baltimore  in  June> 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  and  Herschel  V. 
Johnson,  of  Georgia,  were  nominated  on  a  plat- 
form of  so-called  "squatter  sovereignty  " — that  is  a 
platform  which  proposed  to  leave  to  the  people  of 
the  Territories  the  decision  as  to  whether  they 
should  admit  or  debar  slavery.  This  compromise 
course  satisfied  neither  the  extreme  advocates  of 
slavery  nor  its  sincere  antagonists,  and  the  former 
held  another  convention,  and  nominated  John  C. 
Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  and  Joseph  Lane,  of 
Oregon,  the  Breckenridge  wing  asserting  that  the 
unorganized  territory  of  the  United  States  was  open- 
to  all  kind  of  property,  including  slaves. 


LINCOLN  EJECTED. 

The  Republicans  held  their  National  convention 
in  Chicago  in  May,  nominating  Abraham  Lincoln 
and  Hannibal  Hamlin.  The  platform  affirmed  the 
principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  \ 


fTO  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

•denounced  schemes  of  disunion ;  denounced  the 
pro-slavery  policy  of  the  Buchanan  administration 
-and  its  extravagance  ;  denounced  the  dogma  that 
the  Constitution  carried  slavery  into  the  Territories  ; 
favored  the  admission  of  Kansas  as  a  free  State ; 
protection  to  American  industry ;  a  homestead 
law ;  a  Pacific  railroad,  and  internal  improvements. 
"The  American  party,  which  had  now  changed  its 
title  to  the  "Constitutional  Union  party,"  held  a 
•convention  in  Baltimore,  and  nominated  John  Bell, 
•of  Tennessee,  and  Edward  Everett,  of  Massachu- 
setts. Their  platform  affirmed  the  "Constitution 
of  the  country,  the  union  of  the  States,  and  the 
•enforcement  of  the  laws."  The  nominations  of 
1860  were  followed,  especially  throughout  the 
Northern  States,  by  one  of  the  most  spirited 
-campaigns  in  the  history  of  parties  in  this  country, 
resulting  in  the  election  of  Lincoln  and  Hamlin. 

The  platform  of  the  Republican  national  con- 
vention for  1864  pledged  the  party  to  aid  the 
government  in  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion, 
and  to  accept  no  peace  not  based  on  the  uncondi- 
tional surrender  of  all  armed  rebels.  It  demanded 
.an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  prohibiting 
slavery  ;  pledged  the  party  to  the  payment  of  the 
public  debt,  and  approved  the  ' '  Monroe  Doctrine. ' ' 
The  convention  renominated  Lincoln  for  President, 
and  recognized  the  Union  men  of  the  South  by  the 
nomination  of  Andrew  Johnson  for  Vice-President 
The  Democratic  national  convention  in  1864  nomi- 
nated George  B.  McClellan  and  George  H.  Pendle- 
ton.  The  platform  declared  for  union  under  the 
Constitution  ;  demanded  ' '  after  four  years'  failure 
to  restore  the  Union  by  war,"  the  cessation  of 
hostilities,  and  a  peace  convention.  It  denounced 
the  war  measures  of  the  administration,  ana 
favored  the  preservation  of  the  rights  of  the  States. 
The  electoral  count  showed  two  hundred  and 
twelve  votes  for  Lincoln  and  Johnson,  and  twenty- 
one  votes  for  McClellan  and  Pendleton. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  171 

Secession  having  been  subdued,  the  Thirty-ninth 
and  Fortieth  Congresses,  strongly  Republican, 
were  confronted  with  many  new  and  untried  ques- 
tions of  policy.  Before  the  commencement  of 
Grant's  first  administration,  in  March,  1869,  the 
thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amendments 
to  the  Constitution,  and  other  measures  of  recon- 
struction had  been  adopted.  The  legal  tender  act 
of  1862  was  one  of  the  issues  between  the  two  great 
parties  up  to  1870,  when  the  Supreme  Court  de- 
cided in  favor  of  its  constitutionality. 


REPUBUCANS. 

In  1872,  another  new  party,  styling  itself  "Lib- 
eral Republican,"  sprang  up,  with  Horace  Greeley 
and  B.  Gratz  Brown  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent.  The  Democrats  accepted  these  candidates. 
The  Republican  party  renomiuated  General  Grant, 
with  Henry  Wilson  for  Vice-President.  Horace 
Greeley  was  overwhelmingly  defeated,  and  died 
soon  after.  In  1876,  the  leading  parties  were  the 
Republican  and  Democratic,  besides  the  '*  Green- 
back ' '  or  Independent  party  and  the  Prohibition 
party,  all  of  which  held  national  conventions, 
and  made  nominations  for  President  and  Vice- 
President.  The  leading  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican and  Democratic  parties  have  already 
been  explained,  while  the  name  of  "Prohibition 
party  "  is  a  sufficient  indication  of  its  aim.  The 
new  party  known  as  the  "Greenback  party,"  now 
first  appearing  as  a  national  organization,  de- 
manded the  repeal  of  the  "specie  resumption  act" 
of  January  14,  1875 ;  the  United  States  note,  or 
"greenback,"  as  a  circulating  medium  and  legal 
tender  irrespective  of  coin  redemption  ;  the  sup- 
pression of  bank  paper  and  no  further  issue  of  gold 
bonds.  In  several  States  the  Democrats  allied 


172  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

themselves  with  this  new  part}-,  and  in  some  in- 
stances the  coalition  proved  successful,  but  as  a 
national  party  it  failed  to  carry  a  single  State, 
although  Peter  Cooper,  its  candidate  for  President, 
received  a  popular  vote  of  eighty-one  thousand, 
seven  hundred  and  forty. 


ELECTORAI,  COMMISSION. 

The  election  of  1876  will  always  be  memorable 
for  its  violent  contentions,  its  intrigues,  corrup- 
tions, frauds,  its  extraordinary  procedures,  and  its 
result.  The  Democratic  nominees  were  Samuel  J. 
Tilden,  of  New  York,  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks, 
of  Indiana.  The  Republican  candidates  were 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  and  Wm.  A. 
Wheeler,  of  New  York.  The  controversy  and 
struggle  between  the  rival  claimants  occupied  the 
closing  months  of  Grant's  administration.  The 
dispute  as  to  the  result  rested  chiefly  upon  the 
question  whether  the  electoral  votes  of  Louisiana 
had  been  justly  awarded  to  Mr.  Hayes  by  the 
returning  board  of  that  State.  The  electoral  votes 
of  four  States  were,  however,  in  question — South 
Carolina,  Florida,  Louisiana,  and  Oregon.  Double 
returns  had  been  received  from  them  ;  one  set  an- 
nouncing Democratic,  the  other,  Republican  elec- 
tors. If  the  Democratic  return  was  accepted, 
Tilden  was  elected  by  thirty-seven  votes ;  if  the 
Republican,  Hayes  was  elected  by  one  vote.  The 
Republicans  were  in  powef,  and  held  all  the  offices 
of  Government.  The  Vice-President/n?  tern.,  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  was  a  Republican. 
He  was  sustained  by  his  party  in  claiming  the  right 
to  decide  between  the  lists  of  the  State  electors. 
This  would  assure  the  election  of  Hayes.  The 
Democrats,  who  had  a  majority  on  joint  ballot  in 
Congress,  denied  the  claim  of  the  acting  Vice-Presi- 
dent, and  insisted  that  the  determination  rested 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  173 

with  the  two  Houses  of  Congress.  This,  if  agreed 
to,  would  give  the  Presidency  to  Tilden.  The 
view  of  the  Vice-President  was  upheld  by  the 
President  and  his  Cabinet.  A  large  body  of  troops 
was  collected  in  Washington  and  its  neighbor- 
hood, to  be  ready  for  any  emergency.  The  Joint 
Electoral  Commission  was  instituted  after  long 
debates,  and  tedious  investigations  into  the  func- 
tions of  the  Vice-President  and  the  electoral  votes 
of  Florida,  Louisiana,  South  Carolina,  and  Oregon 
were  accorded  to  the  Republican  candidates.  This 
decision  was  accepted  as  better  than  the  continu- 
ance of  hazardous  discord.  Hayes  and  Wheeler 
were  declared  President  and  Vice-President  by  the 
majority  of  one  electoral  vote. 

President  Hayes  withdrew  the  United  States 
troops  from  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana  in  the 
second  month  of  his  administration.  In  both  States 
there  were  rival  Legislatures  and  contending  claim- 
ants for  the  Governorship  and  other  State  offices, 
and  there  had  been,  for  some  months,  danger  of 
violent  collisions.  General  Grant  had  shown  a 
disposition  to  remove  the  troops.  He  left  this  duty 
to  be  executed  by  his  successor.  As  soon  as  it  was 
done,  the  Democratic  Governors, — General  Wade 
Hampton  in  South  Carolina,  and  General  Nicholls 
in  Louisiana — were  inaugurated. 


PROTECTION  TO  THE  FRONT. 

In  the  next  national  contest  (1880),  the  Repub- 
licans declared  for  "protective  duties,"  and  the 
Democrats  for  "tariff  for  revenue  only."  The 
Greenback  and  Prohibition  parties  were  again  in 
the  field  with  national  tickets.  The  electoral  re- 
sult was  two  hundred  and  fourteen  votes  for  the 
Republican  candidates,  Garfield  and  Arthur,  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty-five  for  Hancock  and  Eng- 
lish. The  assassination  of  President  Garfield  left 


174  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  administration  in  the  hands  of  Vice- President 
Chester  A.  Arthur,  of  New  York.  The  closing 
year  of  President  Arthur's  administration  found 
little  change  in  the  situation  of  parties.  The 
eighth  national  convention  of  the  Republican 
party,  nominated  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine,  and 
John  A.  Logan,  of  Illinois.  The  Democrats  named 
Grover  Cleveland,  of  New  York,  and  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  of  Indiana.  The  Republican  platform 
favored  a  tariff  for  protection,  while  the  Democrats 
denounced  the  tariff,  then  existing,  and  pledged 
the  party  to  revise  it,  as  they  said,  in  a  spirit  of 
fairness  to  all  interests.  The  Democrats  also  de- 
clared themselves  opposed  to  sumptuary  laws,  and 
favored  civil  service  reform.  The  Greenback  and 
Prohibition  parties  presented  candidates.  The 
Greenback  party  nominated — or  rather  adopted  as 
their  candidate  for  President,  Benjamin  F.  Butler, 
who  had  previously  been  nominated  by  a  national 
convention  of  persons  styling  themselves  Anti- 
Monopolists.  The  epithet  "  Mugwump  "  was  now 
heard  for  the  first  time,  being  applied  to  that  fac- 
tion of  the  Republican  party,  mainly  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  who  claimed  for  themselves  special 
purity  of  political  methods.  The  "Mugwumps" 
in  New  York,  proved  as  disastrous  to  the  Republi- 
can party  in  1884  as  the  "Barnburners"  of  the 
same  State  had  to  the  Democratic  in  1848.  Cleve- 
land and  Hendricks  were  elected  by  219  electoral 
votes  to  182  for  Elaine  and  Logan. 

President  Cleveland  made  the  tariff  the  leading 
issue.  He  called  for  a  general  reduction  of  duties, 
and  was  sustained  in  the  demand  by  his  party, 
which  again  put  him  in  nomination  in  1888  with 
Allen  G.  Thurman,  of  Ohio,  for  Vice-President. 
Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Indiana,  andLevi  P.  Morton, 
of  New  York,  were  put  in  nomination  by  the 
Republicans  on  a  platform  of  protection,  and  were 
elected,  receiving  231  electoral  votes  to  168  for 
Cleveland  and  Thurman. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  175 

THE  POPUUST  PARTY. 

In  the  election  of  1892  a  new  political  party — the 
People's  or  Populist — presented  a  formidable  front. 
It  was  in  reality  an  outgrowth  of  the  Granger  and. 
Farmers'  Alliance  movement  in  the  West  and 
South,  organized  to  uphold  agricultural  interests- 
against  the  alleged  oppression  of  corporations,  and 
especially  of  railways.  The  Populist  party  proved 
a  sort  of  political  cave  of  Adullam  to  which  the 
great  number  of  voters,  dissatisfied  with  the  old 
parties,  resorted.  In  the  South,  Populism  stands- 
for  the  numerous  white  element  which  considers- 
that  it  has  been  ruled  long  enough  by  the  aristo- 
cratic survivors  of  the  war,  and  which  desires — 
without  changing  the  existing  relations  between, 
whites  and  blacks — to  establish  greater  equality- 
among  the  whites.  In  the  West  the  Populists  are 
of  all  grades  of  society,  and  the  party  is  not  pent 
up  within  any  barrier  of  class.  Extravagances  on. 
the  part  of  Populist  leaders  have  tended  to  blind 
the  public  to  the  real  importance  of  the  movement, 
which  undoubtedly  represents  a  deep-seated  protest. 
against  certain  evils  which  have  grown  to  mon- 
strous proportions,  and  which  are  becoming  more 
formidable.  Whether  a  remedy  can  be  found 
within  the  lines  of  the  old  parties,  or  a  new  party 
will  come  to  the  front  is  a  question  as  yet  unan- 
swered. 

The  candidates  for  President  who  received  elec- 
toral votes  in  1892  were — Republican,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  renominated,  and  Whitelaw  Reid,  of 
New  York,  for  Vice-President ;  Democratic,  Grover 
Cleveland  and  Adlai  Stevenson,  of  Illinois  ;  Peo- 
ple's party,  James  B.  Weaver,  of  Iowa,  and  James- 
G.  Field,  of  Virginia.  Cleveland  and  Stevenson, 
received  277  electoral  votes,  and  were  elected  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President  respectively;  Harrison* 
and  Reid  received  145  electoral  votes,  and  Weaver 
and  Field  22  votes. 


176  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

THE  PRESIDENT  AND  RIOTS. 

The  tariff  struggle  of  1894  has  been  elsewhere 
described.  Of  far  greater  interest  and  consequence 
as  affecting  the  rights  of  citizens  and  the  future  of 
the  Republic  was  the  action  taken  by  President 
Cleveland  in  the  suppression  of  riotous  outbreaks 
in  Illinois  and  other  States.  The  powers  and  duties 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States  are  fully  set 
forth  in  the  Federal  Constitution,  which  also  pro- 
vides that  "the  United  States  shall  guarantee  to 
every  State  in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of 
government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against 
invasion,  and  on  application  of  the  Legislature,  or 
of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legislature  cannot  be 
convened)  against  domestic  violence."  It  is  also 
provided  in  the  Constitution  that  the  President 
41  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  exe- 
cuted." The  use  by  order  of  President  Cleveland 
of  United  States  troops,  in  the  summer  of  1894,  to 
suppress  the  anti-railway  riots  in  Chicago  and  other 
parts  of  the  United  States,  was  formally  approved 
in  resolutions  of  Congress,  adopted  almost  unani- 
mously ;  but  evoked  a  strong  protest  from  the 
Governor  of  Illinois,  who  addressed  the  President 
as  follows  : 

" 1  submit  that  local  self-government  is  a  funda- 
mental principle  of  our  Constitution.  Each  com- 
munity shall  govern  itself  so  long  as  it  can  and  is 
ready  and  able  to  enforce  the  law,  and  it  is  in  har- 
mony with  this  fundamental  principle  that  the 
statute  authorizing  the  President  to  send  troops 
into  States  must  be  construed.  Especially  is  this 
so  in  matters  relating  to  the  exercise  of  police 
power  and  the  preservation  of  law  and  order. 

"The  question  of  federal  supremacy  is  in  no 
way  involved.  No  one  disputes  it  for  a  moment, 
but  under  our  Constitution  federal  supremacy  and 
local  self-government  must  go  hand  in  hand,  and 
to  ignore  ihe  latter  is  to  do  violence  to  the  Consti- 
tution." 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  177 

President  Cleveland  briefly  replied  : 

' '  Federal  troops  were  sent  to  Chicago  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
United  States,  upon  the  demand  of  the  Post  Office 
Department  that  obstruction  of  the  mails  should  be 
removed,  and  upon  the  representations  of  the 
judicial  officers  of  the  United  States  that  process 
of  the  federal  courts  could  not  be  executed  through 
the  ordinary  means,  and  upon  abundant  proof  that 
conspiracies  existed  against  commerce  between  the 
States.  To  meet  these  conditions,  which  are  clearly 
within  the  province  of  federal  authority,  the  pres- 
ence of  federal  troops  in  the  city  of  Chicago  was 
deemed  not  only  proper  but  necessary,  and  there 
has  been  no  intention  of  thereby  interfering  with 
the  plain  duty  of  the  local  authorities  to  preserve 
the  peace  of  the  city. ' ' 

As  a  similar  crisis  may  arise  at  any  time  it  may 
be  of  interest  to  quote  the  law  under  which  the 
President  acted.  His  authority  is  derived  from 
section  5298  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  enacted  July 
29,  1891,  and  section  5299,  which  became  a  law 
April  20,  1871.  The  former  provides  that  "when- 
ever, by  reason  of  unlawful  obstructions,  combina- 
tions, or  assemblages  of  persons,  or  rebellion 
against  the  authority  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  it  shall  become  impracticable,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  President,  to  enforce,  by  the  or- 
dinary course  of  judicial  proceedings,  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  within  any  State  or  Territory,  it 
shall  be  lawful  for  the  President  to  call  forth  the 
militia  of  any  or  all  the  States,  and  to  employ  such 
parts  of  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  the  United 
States  as  he  may  deem  necessary  to  enforce  the 
faithful  execution  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
or  to  suppress  such  rebellion,  in  whatever  State  or 
Territory  thereof  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
may  be  forcibly  opposed,  or  the  execution  thereof 
forcibly  obstructed."  Section  5299  is  as  follows  : 

' '  Whenever    insurrection,     domestic    violence, 


178  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

unlawful  combinations,  or  conspiracies  in  any  State 
so  obstructs  or  hinders  the  execution  of  the  laws 
thereof,  and  of  the  United  States,  as  to  deprive  any 
portion  or  class  of  the  people  of  such  State  of  any 
of  the  rights,  privileges,  or  immunities,  or  protec- 
tion, named  in  the  Constitution  and  secured  by  the 
laws  for  the  protection  of  such  rights,  privileges, 
or  immunities,  and  the  constituted  authorities  of 
such  State  are  unable  to  protect,  or,  from  any 
cause,  fail  in  or  refuse  protection  of  the  people  in 
such  rights,  such  facts  shall  be  deemed  a  denial  by 
such  State  of  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws  to 
which  they  are  entitled  under  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States ;  and  in  all  such  cases,  or  when- 
ever any  such  insurrection,  violence,  unlawful  com- 
bination, or  conspiracy,  opposes  or  obstructs  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  or  the  due  execution 
thereof,  or  impedes  or  obstructs  the  due  course  of 
justice  under  the  same,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the 
President,  and  it  shall  be  his  duty,  to  take  such 
measures,  by  the  employment  of  the  militia  or  the 
land  and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States,  or  of 
either,  or  by  other  means,  as  he  may  deem  neces- 
sary, for  the  suppression  of  such  insurrection,  do- 
mestic violence,  or  combinations." 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  179 


PART   XI. 
PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

With  Brief  Biographical  Sketches  of  each  from    Wash- 
ington to  Cleveland. 

GEORGE;  WASHINGTON, 
FIRST  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  most  exemplary  character,  perhaps,  that 
ever  adorned  any  era  in  history,  and  who  received 
in  his  life-time  the  noble  appellations  of  "the- 
Founder  of  the  Republic,"  and  "the  Father  of  his 
Country,"  was  born  in  the  county  of  Westmore- 
land, Virginia,  on  the  22d  day  of  February,  1732. 
His  early  instruction  was  domestic  and  scanty,  but 
full  of  good  discipline  and  sound  principles ;  and 
as  his  father  died  when  he  was  only  ten  years  old, 
he  had  no  subsequent  opportunities  for  acquiring  a 
thorough  literary  or  scientific  education.  George 
Washington  adopted  early  in  life  the  profession  of 
a  surveyor,  and  he  found  agreeable  and  profitable 
employment  in  surveying  different  parts  of  his 
native  Virginia.  He  also  directed  much  of  his  atten- 
tion to  the  science  of  arms,  in  the  use  of  which 
every  young  man  was  instructed,  in  order  to  repel 
the  incursions  of  the  Indians,  who  were  often  led 


i8o  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

on  by  skillful  Frenchmen.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
lie  was  appointed  one  of  the  adjutant-generals  of 
the  colony  of  Virginia,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and 
soon  after  he  was  advanced  to  a  colonelcy,  and  sent 
by  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  the  Ohio  with  despatches 
to  the  French  commander,  who  was  erecting  forti- 
fications from  Canada  to  New  Orleans,  in  violation 
of  existing  treaties.  The  Governor  was  so  much 
pleased  with  the  faithful  discharge  of  this  duty, 
that  he  ordered  Washington's  journal  to  be  printed. 
It  afforded  evidence  of  great  sagacity,  fortitude, 
and  a  sound  judgment,  and  firmly  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  his  future  fame. 

In  the  Spring  of  1755,  Washington  \vas  per- 
suaded to  accompany  General  Braddock  as  an  aid, 
with  the  rank  of  colonel,  in  his  disastrous  expedi- 
tion against  Fort  Du  Quesne  ;  and  had  his  advice 
been  followed  on  that  occasion,  the  result  would 
liave  been  very  different. 

Three  years  afterward  (1758)  Washington  com- 
manded the  Virginians  in  another  expedition 
against  the  French,  which  terminated  successfully. 
At  the  close  of  this  campaign  he  left  the  army,  and 
was  soon  after  married  to  Mrs.  Martha  Custis,  (the 
widow  of  Col.  Daniel  Parke  Custis, )  whose  maiden 
name  was  Dandridge,  and  whose  intelligent  and 
patriotic  conduct,  as  wife  and  widow,  will  ever  be 
gratefully  remembered  in  American  annals. 

In  1759  Washington  was  elected  to  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  and  continued  to  be  returned  to  that 
body,  with  the  exception  of  occasional  intervals, 
until  1774,  when  he  was  sent  to  represent  Virginia 
in  the  Continental  Congress.  His  well-tempered 
zeal  and  his  military  skill,  which  enabled  him  to 
suggest  the  most  proper  means  for  national  defence, 
fixed  all  eyes  upon  him,  as  one  well  qualified  to 
direct  in  the  hour  of  peril ;  and  accordingly,  after 
the  first  scene ^  of  the  revolutionary  drama  was 
opened  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  and  an  army 
had  assembled  at  Cambridge,  he  was,  on  the  I5th 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  181 

of  June,  1775,  unanimously  appointed  coihmander- 
in-chief  of  the  American  forces. 

After  bringing  the  war  to  a  successful  termina- 
tion, Washington,  on  the  23d  of  December,  1783, 
formally  resigned  his  commission. 

In  May,  1787,  he  was  elected  to  the  convention 
which  met  at  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  constitution,  and  was  at  once  called 
upon  to  preside  over  its  deliberations.  After  that 
admirable  instrument  was  adopted  by  the  people, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  the  first  President  of 
the  United  States  for  four  years  ;  at  the  expiration 
of  which,  he  was  unanimously  re-elected  for  a 
second  term.  On  the  I2th  of  December,  1799, 
this  great  man,  the  august  instrument  of  Divine 
Providence  in  the  achievement  of  American  inde- 
pendence, was  seized  with  an  inflammation  in  the 
throat,  which  grew  worse  the  next  day,  and  termi- 
nated his  life  on  the  I4th,  in  the  68th  year  of  his- 
age. 


JOHN  ADAMS, 
SECOND  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


And  whose  fame  as  a  patriot  and  statesman  is 
imperishable,  was  born  at  Braintree,  Mass.,  October 
I9>  *7 [35-  HC  early  displayed  superior  capacity  for 
learning,  and  graduated  at  Cambridge  college  with 
great  credit.  After  qualifying  himself  for  the  legal 
profession,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  .1761,  and 
soon  attained  that  distinction  to  which  his  talents 
were  entitled.  From  the  commencement  of  the 
troubles  with  Great  Britain,  in  1769,  he  was  among 
the  most  active  in  securing  the  freedom  of  his 
country.  Being  elected  to  the  first  Continental 


182  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Congress,  he  took  a  prominent  part  iu  all  the  war 
measures  that  were  then  originated  ;  and  subse- 
quently suggested  the  appointment  of  Washington 
as  cotnmander-in-chief  of  the  army.  He  was  one 
of  the  committee  which  reported  the  Declaration 
•of  Independence  in  1776,  and  the  next  year  visited 
France  as  commissioner  to  form  a  treaty  of  alliance 
and  commerce  with  that  country.  Although  the 
object  had  been  accomplished  before  his  arrival,  his 
visit  had  otherwise  a  favorable  effect  on  the  exist- 
ing position  of  affairs.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
was  appointed  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
Great  Britain.  In  1785  he  was  sent  to  England 
as  the  first  minister  from  this  country,  and  on  his 
return  was  elected  first  Vice-President,  in  which 
•office  he  served  two  terms,  and  was  then,  in  1797, 
elected  to  succeed  Washington  as  President.  Many 
occurrences  tended  to  embarrass  his  administration, 
and  to  render  it  unpopular  ;  but  it  is  now  generally 
admitted  to  have  been  characterized  by  patriotism 
and  vigor  equal  to  the  emergencies  which  then 
existed.  Upon  the  close  of  his  term,  Mr.  Adams 
retired  to  his  farm  at  Quincy,  where  his  declining 
years  were  passed  in  the  gratification  of  his  unabated 
love  for  reading  and  contemplation,  and  where  he 
was  constantly  cheered  by  an  interesting  circle  of 
friendship  and  affection.  The  semi-centennial  anni- 
versary of  American  Independence  (July  4,  1826,) 
was  remarkable,  not  merely  for  the  event  which  it 
commemorated,  but  for  the  decease  of  two  of  the 
most  active  participants  in  the  measures  by  which 
independence  was  achieved.  On  that  day,  Adams 
and  Jefferson  were  both  gathered  to  their  fathers, 
within  about  four  hours  of  each  other,  "cheered 
by  the  benediction  of  their  country,  to  whom  they 
left  the  inheritance  of  their  fame,  and  the  memory 
of  their  bright  example." 

President  Adams  married  Abigail  Smith,  born  in 
"Wey mouth,  Mass.,  November  23,  1744;  died  at 
•Quincy,  Mass.,  October  28,  1818. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  183 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON, 

THIRD  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


Was  born  at  Shad  well,  Albemarle  County,  Va., 
(near  Monticello,  the  seat  where  he  died,)  April  13, 
1743.  He  was  educated  at  William  and  Mary's 
College,  and  graduated  with  distinction  when  quite 
3'oung.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  learning,  and  par- 
ticularly of  natural  philosophy.  With  the  cele- 
brated George  Wythe,  he  commenced  the  study  of 
the  law,  and  became  a  favorite  pupil.  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son was  never  distinguished  as  an  advocate,  but  was 
considered  a  good  lawyer.  Soon  after  he  came  to 
the  bar,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  and  in  that  body  was  duly  appreciated 
for  his  learning  and  aptitude  for  business.  He  at 
once  took  fire  at  British  oppression  :  and  in  1774, 
he  employed  his  pen  in  discussing  the  whole  course 
of  the  British  ministry.  His  work  was  admired, 
and  made  a  text-book  by  his  countrymen.  In 
June,  1775,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Continental 
Congress,  from  Virginia.  In  1776,  he  was  chosen 
chairman  of  the  committee  that  drafted  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence.  This  instrument  is  nearly 
all  Jefferson's,  and  was  sanctioned  by  his  coad- 
jutors with  few  alterations.  In  1778,  Mr.  Jefferson 
was  appointed  an  envoy  to  France,  to  form  a  treaty 
with  that  government,  but  ill  health  prevented  his 
acceptance  of  the  mission.  He  succeeded  Patrick 
Henry,  in  1779,  as  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  con- 
tinued in  that  station  two  years.  In  1781,  he  com- 
posed his  Notes  on  Virginia.  In  1783,  he  was  sent 
to  France,  to  join  the  agents  of  our  country,  Mr. 
Adams  and  Dr.  Franklin.  In  1785,  he  succeeded 
Dr.  Franklin  as  minister,  and  remained  in  France 
two  years,  when  he  retired,  and  returned  home. 
In  1789,  he  was  made  Secretary  of  State,  under 


184  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Washington,  in  which  situation  he  was  highly 
distinguished  for  his  talents.  Mr.  Jefferson  re- 
signed in  1793.  In  1797,  he  was  elected  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  took  his  seat  as 
President  of  the  Senate,  on  the  following  4th  of 
March.  In  1801,  he  was  elected  President  of  the 
United  States,  which  office  he  held  for  eight  years. 
After  completing  his  second  term,  he  retired  to 
private  life,  in  which  he  spent  his  days  in  philo- 
sophical pursuits,  until  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  when 
he  expired,  just  fifty  years  after  penning  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence. 

Thomas  Jefferson  married  in  1772  Martha  Wayles 
(Skelton),  born  in  Charles  City  County,  Va.,  Octo- 
ber 19,  1748;  died  at  Monticello,  Va.,  September 
6,  1782.  She  was  very  beautiful,  and  was  a  widow 
at  the  time  of  her  marriage  to  Jefferson. 


JAMES  MADISON, 
FOURTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


Was  born  in  Orange  County,  Va.,  March  16,  1751. 
His  studies,  preparatory  to  entering  Princeton  Col- 
lege, were  pursued  under  the  most  accomplished 
instructors.  He  was  graduated  from  Princeton 
with  high  honor  in  1771.  On  returning  to  Virginia, 
he  zealously  commenced  the  study  of  the  law, 
•which  he  subsequently  abandoned  for  political  life. 

In  1776,  Mr.  Madison  was  elected  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  Virginia  ;  and  from  this  period,  for 
more  than  forty  years,  he  was  continually  in  office, 
serving  his  State  and  his  country  in  various  capaci- 
ties, from  State  legislator  to  President.  In  1778, 
he  was  elected  to  the  Executive  Council  of  the 
State,  where  he  rendered  important  aid  to  Henry 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  185. 

and  Jefferson,  governors  of  Virginia,  and  by  his 
probity  of  character,  faithfulness  in  the  discharge 
of  duty,  and  amiableness  of  deportment,  he  won 
the  approbation  of  these  great  men.  In  the  winter 
of  1779-80,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, and  became  immediately  an  active  and  lead- 
ing member,  as  the  journal  of  that  body  abundantly 
testifies. 

In  1784,  '5,  '6,  Mr.  Madison  was  a  member  oF 
the  I/egislature  of  Virginia.  In  1787,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  convention  held  in  Philadelphia, 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  a  Constitution  for  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  Perhaps  no* 
member  of  that  body  had  more  to  do  with  the 
formation  of  that  noble  instrument,  the  "Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  of  America,"  than  Mr. 
Madison. 

It  was  during  the  recess  between  the  proposition 
of  the  Constitution  by  the  Convention  of  1787,  and. 
its  adoption  by  the  States,  that  that  celebrated 
work.  "The  Federalist"  made  its  appearance. 
This  is  known  to  be  the  joint  production  of  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  John  Jay  and  James  Madison. 
In  the  same  year  Mr.  Madison  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress, and  held  his  seat  until  the  Continental  Con- 
gress passed  away.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Convention  of  Virginia  which  met  to  adopt  the 
Constitution,  and  on  the  establishment  of  the  new- 
Congress  under  the  Constitution,  he  was  chosen 
a  member,  retaining  his  seat  until  the  close  of 
Washington's  administration. 

In  1801,  as  one  of  the  Presidential  electors, 
Mr.  Madison  had  the  gratification  of  voting  for 
his  illustrious  friend  Jefferson,  who  immediately- 
offered  him  a  place  in  his  cabinet,  which  was  ac- 
cepted. Accordingly  he  entered  on  the  discharge 
of  his  duties  as  Secretary  of  State,  which  duties- 
he  continued  to  perform  during  the  whole  of  Mr. 
Jefferson's  administration.  On  the  retirement  of 
Mr.  Jefferson  in  1809,  Mr.  Madison  succeeded  to 


186  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  Presidency,  in  which  office  he  served  two  terms. 

Mr.  Madison  then  retired  to  his  peaceful  home  in 
Virginia,  where  he  lived  respected  by  all,  until  on 
the  twenty-eighth  day  of  June,  1826,  the  last  sur- 
vivor of  the  framers  of  our  Constitution  was  gath- 
ered to  his  fathers,  full  of  years  and  glory. 

President  Madison's  wife  was  Dorothy  Payne — 
the  beautiful  and  intellectual  "Dolly  Madison," 
who  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  May  20,  1772,  and 
died  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  July  12,  1849. 


JAMES  MONROE, 
FIFTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


One  of  the  few  exalted  characters  that  served  his 
-country  in  both  a  civil  and  military  capacity,  was 
born  in  Westmoreland  County,  Va.,  April  28,  1758, 
and  was  educated  at  William  and  Mary's  College. 
He  was  graduated  in  1776,  and  commenced  the 
study  of  the  law.  Anxious  to  aid  in  the  struggle 
for  independence,  which  had  then  just  begun,  he 
abandoned  his  studies,  and  entered  the  army  as  a 
•cadet— joining  a  corps  under  the  gallant  General 
Mercer.  Monroe  distinguished  himself  in  several 
well-fought  battles,  and  rapid  promotion  followed, 
until  he  reached  the  rank  of  captain.  He  was  at 
Harlem  Heights  and  White  Plains,  and  shared  the 
perils  and  fatigues  of  the  distressing  retreat  of 
Washington  through  New  Jersey,  as  well  as  the 
glory  of  the  victory  over  the  Hessians  at  Trenton, 
where  he  received  a  musket-ball  in  the  shoulder ; 
^notwithstanding  which,  he  valiantly  "fought  out 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  187 

the  fight."  He  subsequently  accepted  the  post  of 
an  aide  to  Lord  Stirling,  with  the  rank  of  major,  in 
which  position  he  saw  much  hard  service— being 
engaged  in  almost  every  conflict  for  the  two 
succeeding  campaigns,  and  displaying  great  cour- 
age and  coolness  at  the  bloody  battles  of  Brandy- 
wine,  Germantown  and  Monmouth. 

Aspiring  to  a  separate  command,  Monroe  ob- 
tained permission  to  raise  a  regiment  in  his  native 
State;  for  which  purpose  he  left  the  army,  and 
returned  to  Virginia,  where  he  encountered  so 
many  unexpected  and  discouraging  obstacles,  that 
he  finally  relinquished  the  enterprise,  and  re- 
sumed his  law  studies  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 

In  1780  Mr.  Monroe  was  elected  to  the  Virginia 
Legislature,  and  in  the  following  year  was  made 
one  of  Governor  Jefferson's  Council,  in  which  he 
continued  until  1783,  when,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  years,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  After  serving  three  years  in  that  body, 
he  was  again  returned  to  the  State  Legislature. 

In  1788,  while  a  member  of  the  convention  to 
decide  upon  the  adoption  of  the  new  Constitution, 
Mr.  Monroe  voted  in  the  minority  against  that  in- 
strument ;  but  this  vote  did  not  at  all  affect  his 
popularity.  Two  years  afterward  he  was  elected 
United  States  Senator,  and  in  1794  he  was  sent  as 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
to  the  French  Republic.  After  settling  the  cession 
of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  he  went  to  Eng- 
land to  succeed  Mr.  King  as  Minister  at  the  Court  of 
St.  James.  The  affair  of  the  frigate  Chesapeake 
placing  him  in  an  uncomfortable  situation,  he  re- 
turned to  the  United  States,  and  in  1810,  was  once 
more  elected  to  the  Virginia  Legislature.  He  was 
soon  after  chosen  Governor  of  that  State,  in  which 
office  he  remained  until  Mr.  Madison  called  him  to 
assume  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State  in  his- 
Cabinet.  In  1817,  he  was  elected  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  in  1821  was  unanimously 


188  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

re-elected,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  vote  in 
New  Hampshire.  His  administration  was  a  prosper- 
ous and  quiet  one. 

Mr.  Monroe  united  with  Jefferson  and  Madison 
in  founding  the  University  of  Virginia  ;  and  when 
the  convention  was  formed  for  the  revision  of  the 
constitution  of  his  State,  he  was  called  to  preside 
over  its  action.  Not  long  after  this,  he  went  to 
reside  with  a  beloved  daughter  (the  wife  of  Samuel 
Iy.  Gouverneur,  Ksq.,)  in  New  York  city,  where  he 
lived  until  the  anniversary  of  independence  in 
1831,  when,  "  amidst  the  pealing  joy  and  congrat- 
ulations of  that  proud  day,  he  passed  quietly  and 
in  glory  away. ' ' 

President  Monroe's  wife  was  Elizabeth  Kort- 
right,  a  dignified  and  accomplished  woman,  born 
in  New  York  city  in  1768  ;  died  in  Jxnidon  County, 
Va.,  in  1830. 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 
SIXTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  at  Quincy,  Mass.,  July  u,  1767,  and 
received  the  advantages  of  an  excellent  education 
before  entering  Harvard  College.  After  being 
graduated  with  marked  credit,  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law  at  Newburyport,  in  the  office 
of  the  Hon.  Theophilus  Parsons,  for  many  years 
afterward  Chief  Justice  of  Massachusetts.  While 
pursuing  his  studies  he  found  leisure  to  write 
several  newspaper  essays,  which  attracted  much 
attention,  aud  displayed  maturity  of  taste  and 
judgment  seldom  attained  so  early  in  life.  In 
1794  Washington  appointed  him  minister  to  the 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  189 

Netherlands,  and  subsequently  transferred  him  to 
Portugal.  He  was  afterward,  at  different  periods, 
minister  to  Prussia,  Russia,  and  England  ;  and  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  who  negotiated  the 
treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain  at  Ghent  in 
1815.  In  1817  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of 
State,  in  which  office  he  continued  during  Mr. 
Monroe's  administration,  eight  years;  when  he 
was  elected  by  the  House  of  Representatives, 
President  of  the  United  States — the  people  having 
failed  in  making  a  choice.  Like  his  father,  he  en- 
countered strong  opposition,  and  only  served  one 
term  in  this  office,  being  defeated  in  a  re-election 
by  General  Jackson.  Mr.  Adams  then  retired  to  his 
farm  at  Quiucy,  but  did  not  long  remain  in  private 
life  ;  for  two  years  afterward,  he  was  chosen  rep- 
resentative in  Congress,  and  continued  to  be  re- 
elected  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the 
capitol  at  Washington,  February  23,  1848.  Two 
days  previous  to  this  sad  event,  while  engaged  in 
his  duties  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  he 
suffered  a  paralytic  stroke,  which  apparently  de- 
prived him  of  all  consciousness.  He  was  borne  to 
the  Speaker's  room,  where  he  received  every  atten- 
tion that  could  be  bestowed  by  anxious  and  devoted 
friends,  but  all  in  vain— his  hour  was  come.  The 
last  words  he  was  heard  to  utter  were,  "This  is  the 
last  of  earth  !  " 

Mr.  Adams  was  a  man  of  rare  gifts  and  rich  ac- 
quisitions. A  diligent  student,  and  economical  of 
his  time,  he  found  opportunity,  amidst  all  his  pub- 
lic cares,  to  cultivate  his  tastes  for  literature  and 
the  sciences.  He  was  one  of  the  finest  classical 
and  belles-lettres  scholars  of  his  time,  and  filled  the 
chair  of  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Belles- Lettres  ia 
Harvard  College  for  several  years. 

President  John  Quincy  Adams'  wife  was  Miss 
Louisa  Johnson,  a  niece  of  Thomas  Johnson,  of 
Maryland.  Their  son,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  be- 
came famous  as  a  diplomatist. 


190  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

ANDREW  JACKSON, 
SEVENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  at  Waxhaw,  Lancaster  county,  S.  C.,  in 
1767,  and  while  yet  a  mere  lad,  did  something 
toward  achieving  the  independence  of  his  coun- 
try. It  is  said  that  he  commenced  his  military 
career  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  and  was  soon 
after  taken  prisoner,  together  with  an  elder  brother. 
During  his  captivity,  he  was  ordered  by  a  British 
officer  to  perform  some  menial  service,  which  he 
promptly  refused,  and  for  this  refusal  he  was 
"  severely  wounded  with  the  sword  which  the 
Englishman  disgraced."  He  was  educated  for 
the  bar,  and  commenced  practice  at  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  but  relinquished  his  legal  pursuits  to  "  gain 
a  name  in  arms."  In  the  early  part  of  the  war 
of  1812,  Congress  having  voted  to  accept  fifty 
thousand  volunteers,  General  Jackson  appealed 
to  the  militia  of  Tennessee,  when  twent3T-five  hun- 
dred enrolled  their  names,  and  presented  them- 
selves to  Congress,  with  Jackson  at  their  head. 
They  were  accepted,  and  ordered  to  Natchez,  to 
watch  the  operations  of  the  British  on  the  lower 
Mississippi.  Not  long  after  Jackson  received 
orders  from  headquarters,  to  disband  his  men,  and 
send  them  to  their  homes.  To  obey,  he  foresaw, 
would  be  an  act  of  great  injustice  to  his  command, 
and  reflect  disgrace  on  the  country,  and  he  resolved 
to  disobey.  He  accordingly  broke  up  his  camp, 
and  returned  to  Nashville,  bringing  all  his  sick 
with  him,  whose  wants  on  the  way  he  relieved 
with  his  private  means,  and  there  he  disbanded  his 
troops  in  the  midst  of  their  homes. 

Jackson  was  soon  called  to  the  field  once  more, 
and  his  commission  marked  out  his  course  of  duty 
on  the  field  of  Indian  warfare.  There  for  years 
belabored,  and  fought,  and  negotiated,  with  the 
extraordinary  precedence  and  undaunted  courage. 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  191; 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  treaty  of  the  "  Hick- 
ory Ground  "  was  framed,  which  won  for  him  the 
familiar  designation  of  "Old  Hickory." 

The  crowning  glory  of  Jackson's  military  career 
was  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  ;  which  will  ever 
occupy  one  of  the  brightest  pages  in  American, 
history.  After  the  war  Jackson  returned  to  his- 
home  in  Nashville.  In  1818  he  was  again  called  on. 
by  his  country  to  render  his  military  services  in  the 
expulsion  of  the  Seminoles.  His  conduct  during 
this  struggle  has  been  both  bitterly  condemned 
and  highly  applauded.  An  attempt  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  to  inflict  a  censure  on  the  old 
hero  for  the  irregularities  of  the  campaign,  after  a 
long  and  bitter  debate,  was  defeated  by  a  large 
majority. 

In  1828,  and  again  in  1832,  General  Jackson  was- 
elected  to  fill  the  Presidential  chair ;  thus  occupying; 
that  elevated  position  for  eight  successive  years. 
He  then  retired  to  his  hospitable  mansion  ("The 
Hermitage")  near  Nashville."  He  died  June  8, 
1845. 

Andrew  Jackson  married  Rachel  Donelson,  born 
in  North  Carolina  in  1767;  died  at  the  Hermitage, 
Tenn.,  Dec.  22,  1831.  The  marriage  was  a  peculiar- 
one.  She  had  been  married  to  a  man  named  Ro- 
bards  from  whom  she  separated.  Jackson  suppos- 
ing that  the  husband  had  got  a  divorce,  married 
her,  but  was  careful  to  repeat  the  marriage  cere- 
mony when  the  divorce  was  actually  procured.  He: 
loved  his  wife  and  they  lived  happily. 

MARTIN   VAN  BUREN, 
EIGHTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  in  the  flourishing  town  of  Kinderhook, 
N.  Y.,  September  5,  1782,  and  early  received  the 
best  education  that  could  then  be  obtained  in  the- 


*9*  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

schools  in  his  immediate  vicinity.  Having  suffi- 
ciently prepared  himself  for  the  study  of  law,  he 
entered  the  office  of  Francis  Sylvester,  in  his 
native  town,  where  he  remained  about  six  years. 
But  law  did  not  engross  his  whole  time  :  he  found 
leisure  occasionally  to  peer  into  the  mysteries  of 
political  economy,  and  finally  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  his  chances  for  fame  and  fortune  were 
at  least  equal  in  the  arena  of  politics  to  anything 
lie  might  accomplish  by  a  strict  adherence  to  legal 
pursuits.  Fully  impressed  with  this  idea,  he  early 
set  about  cultivating  what  little  popularity  could 
be  gained  in  his  limited  sphere,  and  so  won  upon 
the  confidence  of  his  neighbors  and  friends  as  to 
be  appointed,  while  yet  in  his  teens,  a  delegate  to 
a  convention  in  his  native  county,  in  which  im- 
portant political  measures  were  to  be  acted  upon. 

In  1808  he  was  appointed  surrogate  of  Columbia 
county,  the  first  public  office  he  ever  held  ;  and  in 
1812  and  1816  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate, 
in  which  body  he  became  a  distinguished  leader  of 
the  Madison  party,  and  one  of  its  most  eloquent 
supporters. 

In  1821  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  in  which  he  held  his  seat  for  nearly 
•eight  years,  and  became  remarkable  not  only  for 
his  close  attention  to  business,  but  also  for  his  de- 
votion to  the  great  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party. 

In  1828  he  was  elected  Governor  of  his  native 
State,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  that  office  on 
the  first  of  January,  1829;  but  he  filled  the  guber- 
natorial chair  for  only  a  few  weeks.  In  March 
following,  when  General  Jackson  was  elevated  to 
the  Presidency,  he  tendered  Mr.  Van  Buren  the 
post  of  Secretary  of  State,  which  was  accepted. 
At  the  expiration  of  two  years  he  resigned  his  seat 
in  the  Cabinet,  and  was  immediately  appointed 
Minister  to  England;  but  when  his  nomination 
-was  submitted  to  the  Senate,  (June  25, 1831,)  it  was 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  193 

rejected  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Vice-President, 
(Mr.  Calhotm,)  and  of  course  he  was  recalled.  As 
his  friends  attributed  his  rejection  entirely  to  per- 
sonal and  political  rancor,  it  only  served  to  raise 
Mr.  Van  Buren  in  the  estimation  of  his  political 
adherents  ;  and  the  result  was,  that  in  May  follow- 
ing he  was  nominated  with  great  unanimity  for  the 
Vice-Presidency  by  the  Democratic  Convention  at 
Baltimore.  His  triumphant  election  was  regarded 
not  merely  as  a  high  compliment  to  himself,  but 
as  a  wholesome  rebuke  to  his  opponents. 

In  1836  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  put  in  nomination 
for  the  Chief  Magistracy,  to  which  he  was  elected 
by  a  large  majority  over  General  Harrison  ;  but  at 
the  next  Presidential  election  the  tables  were 
turned,  and  Van  Buren  only  received  sixty  votes 
out  of  two  hundred  and  ninety- four. 

After  his  defeat  he  returned  to  Kinderhook, 
where  he  remained  some  time,  and  then  visited 
Europe,  with  one  of  his  sons,  whose  restoration  to 
health  was  the  principal  object  of  his  journey. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  consented  once  more  to  become 
a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and  in  1848  re- 
ceived the  nomination  of  the  Free-soil  party  ; 
but  he  did  not  secure  a  single  electoral  vote.  He 
died  at  Kinderhook,  New  York,  July  24,  1862. 

President  Van  Buren's  wife  was  Hannah  Hoes, 
born  in  Kinderhook,  N.  Y.,  in  1782 ;  died  in. 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  February  5,  1819.  She  was  a  do- 
mestic and  charitable  woman. 


WIU,IAM  HENRY  HARRISON, 
NINTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  in  Charles  City  County,  Va.,  February 
9,  1773,  and  was  educated  for  the  medical  profes- 
sion at  Hampden  Sydney  College.  He  graduated 


194  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

at  a  time  when  our  northwestern  frontier  was  suf- 
fering much  from  the  neighboring  Indians ;  and 
believing  that  he  could  be  of  greater  service  in 
repelling  the  savage  invaders  than  in  pursuing  his 
studies,  he  accepted  an  ensign's  commission  from 
President  Washington,  and  joined  the  army.  He 
was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in  1792,  and  his  skill 
and  bravery  were  highly  commended  by  General 
Wayne,  under  whose  command  he  was  engaged  in 
several  actions.  After  the  bloody  battle  of  Miami 
Rapids,  he  was  rewarded  with  the  rank  of  Captain, 
and  immediately  placed  in  command  of  Fort  Wash- 
ington. In  1797  he  resigned  his  commission,  for 
the  purpose  of  accepting  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
the  Northwest  Territory,  from  which  he  was  elected 
a  delegate  to  Congress  in  1799. 

When  a  territorial  government  was  formed  for 
Indiana,  Harrison  was  appointed  Governor,  and 
continued  in  that  office  till  1813.  To  his  civil  and 
military  duties  he  added  those  of  commissioner 
and  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  ;  and,  in  the 
course  of  his  administration,  he  concluded  thirteen 
important  treaties  with  the  different  tribes.  On 
the  7th  of  November,  1811,  he  gained  the  cele- 
brated battle  of  Tippecanoe,  the  news  of  which 
was  received  throughout  the  country  with  a  burst 
of  enthusiasm.  During  the  war  of  1812  General. 
Harrison  commanded  the  northwestern  army  of 
the  United  States,  and  he  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  leading  events  of  the  campaign  of  1812-13,  tne 
defence  of  Fort  Meigs,  and  the  victory  of  the 
Thames.  In  1814,  he  was  appointed,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  his  companions  in  arms,  Governor  Shelby 
and  General  Cass,  to  treat  with  the  Indians  in  the 
northwest,  at  Greenville ;  and,  in  the  following 
year,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  commission 
to  treat  with  various  other  important  tribes. 

In  1816,  General  Harrison  was  elected  a  member 
of  Congress  from  Ohio  and,  in  1828,  he  was  sent 
as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Republic  of 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  195 

Colombia.  On  his  return,  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
North  Bend,  on  the  Ohio,  where  he  lived  upon  his 
farm  in  comparative  retirement,  till  1837,  when  he 
became  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  Although 
defeated  on  the  first  trial,  four  years  afterward  he 
was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  inaugurated 
in  1841.  General  Harrison  did  not  long  survive 
this  crowning  honor,  as  he  died  on  the  4th  of  April,, 
just  one  month  after  entering  upon  his  duties.  His 
funeral  obsequies  were  performed  on  the  7th,  and 
an  immense  concourse  assembled  to  pay  their  testi- 
mony of  respect.  Funeral  services  and  proces- 
sions also  took  place  in  most  of  the  principal  cities 
throughout  the  country.  As  General  Harrison  was 
the  first  President  who  died  while  in  office,  his 
successor,  Mr.  Tyler,  recommended  that  the  14th 
of  May  be  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,, 
and  accordingly  it  was  so  observed. 

President  William  Henry  Harrison's  wife  was 
Anna  Symmes,  born  near  Morristown,  N.  J.,  July 
25>  1775  I  died  near  North  Bend,  Ohio,  February 
25,  1864. 


JOHN  TYLER, 
TENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


Was  born  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  March  29,  1790, 
and  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  entered  William 
and  Mary  College,  where  he  graduated  with  dis- 
tinguished merit  five  years  afterward.  Few  have 
commenced  life  at  so  early  a  period  as  Mr.  Tyler — 
he  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar  when  only 
nineteen,  and  elected  to  the  Virginia  Legislature 
before  attaining  his  twenty-second  year.  In  1816 
he  was  sent  to  Congress  ;  in  1825  he  was  elected 
Governor  of  Virginia,  and  in  1827  United  States 


196  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Senator,  in  which  capacity  he  firmly  supported 
the  administration  of  General  Jackson — voting 
against  the  tariff  bill  of  1828,  and  against  re- 
chartering  the  United  States  Bank.  Notwith- 
standing this  last  vote,  the  friends  of  the  bank, 
presuming  upon  his  well-known  conservatism,  at 
the  special  session  of  Congress  called  by  his  prede- 
cessor, introduced  a  bill  for  the  establishment  of 
the  "Fiscal  Bank  of  the  United  States,"  which 
passed  both  houses  by  small  majorities,  and  which 
Mr.  Tyler  felt  bound  to  veto.  But  this  did  not 
dishearten  the  friends  of  the  measure,  who  modi- 
fied and  rechristened  their  financial  plan,  which, 
under  the  name  of  "Fiscal  Corporation  of  the 
United  States,"  again  passed  both  houses  of  Con- 
gress, and  was  again  vetoed  by  the  President.  Of 
course,  a  large  portion  of  the  party  that  elected 
him  were  greatly  dissatisfied  with  his  course,  and 
their  denunciations  of  his  alleged  faithlessness 
were  "loud  and  deep. "  To  add  to  the  embarrass- 
ments which  surrounded  President  Tyler,  the  mem- 
bers of  his  Cabinet,  with  the  exception  of  Mr. 
Webster,  resigned  their  places  ;  but  even  this  im- 
plied rebuke  did  not  shake  his  integrity  of  purpose. 
An  equally  efficient  phalanx  of  talent  was  called 
to  his  aid,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  that 
his  views  were  endorsed  by  a  large  number  of 
leading  statesmen.  It  has  been  often  asserted  that 
Mr.  Tyler  had  pledged  himself  to  sustain  the 
financial  schemes  of  the  bank  and  its  friends  ;  but 
this  has  always  been  denied,  and  circumstances 
certainly  warrant  the  conclusion  that  the  assertion 
is  unfounded.  So  gross  and  bitter  were  the  assaults 
made  upon  him,  that  he  felt  called  upon  to  defend 
himself  from  their  violence ;  and,  after  declaring 
his  determination  to  do  his  duty,  regardless  of 
party  ties,  he  said  :  "  I  appeal  from  the  vituperation 
of  the  present  day  to  the  pen  of  impartial  History, 
in  confidence  that  neither  my  motives  nor  my  acts 
will  bear  the  interpretation  which,  for  sinister 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  197 

motives,  has  been  placed  upon  them."  On  the 
expiration  of  his  official  term,  he  retired  to  his 
estate  at  Williamsburg.  When  the  people  of  sev- 
eral Southern  States  voted  for  secession  Mr.  Tyler 
was  elected  to  the  Confederate  Congress.  He  died 
at  Richmond,  Va.,  January  18,  1862,  and  rests  there 
in  an  unmarked  grave. 

President  Tyler's  first  wife  was  Letitia  Christian, 
born  at  Cedar  Grove,  New  Kent  County,  Va.,  No- 
vember 12,  1790;  died  in  Washington,  D.  C., 
September  9,  1842. 

President  Tyler  married  as  his  second  wife  Julia 
Gardiner,  born  on  Gardiner's  Island,  near  East- 
hampton,  N.  Y.,  May  4,  1820  ;  died  in  Richmond, 
Va.,  July  10,  1889. 

JAMES  KNOX  POLK, 

ELEVENTH     PRESIDENT   OF    THE    UNITED   STATES, 

Was  born  at  Mecklenburg,  N.  C.,  November  2, 
1795,  and  there  received  the  rudiments  of  his  early 
education.  In  1806  his  father  removed  to  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  taking  his  family  with  him,  and  there 
it  was  that  Mr.  Polk  pursued  those  preliminary 
studies  which  were  requisite  to  qualify  him  for  the 
legal  profession.  After  due  preparation,  he  entered 
the  office  of  the  Hon.  Felix  Grundy,  under  whose 
able  instruction  he  made  such  rapid  progress,  that 
he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1820.  His  duties  at 
the  bar  did  not  prevent  him  from  taking  part  in  the 
political  affairs  of  the  day  ;  and  in  this  sphere  his 
comprehensive  views  and  zealous  devotion  to 
Democracy  soon  secured  him  a  widely-extended 
popularity,  which  resulted  in  his  election  to  the 
Legislature  of  Tennessee  in  1823.  In  1825,  while 
yet  in  his  thirtieth  year,  lie  was  chosen  a  member 
of  Congress,  in  which  body  he  remained  fourteen 


198  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

years — being  honored  with  the  Speakership  for 
several  sessions.  So  well  satisfied  were  his  con- 
stituents with  his  Congressional  course,  that  he  was 
elected  Governor  by  a  large  majority,  but  some 
-questions  of  local  policy  defeated  his  re-election. 

In  1844  Polk  was  unexpectedly  nominated  for  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States  by  the 
Democratic  Convention  at  Baltimore,  and,  having 
received  sixty-five  electoral  votes  more  than  the 
rival  candidate,  Mr.  Clay,  he  was  inaugurated  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1845. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Polk  assumed  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, the  country  became  involved  in  a  war  with 
Mexico,  which  was  little  more  than  a  series  of 
-victories  wherever  the  American  banner  was  dis- 
played, and  which  resulted  in  important  territorial 
acquisitions.  The  ostensible  ground  for  this  war, 
on  the  part  of  Mexico,  was  the  admission  of  Texas 
into  the  Union,  which  was  one  of  the  first  acts  of 
Mr.  Polk's  administration.  The  Mexicans,  how- 
ever, paid  dearly  for  asserting  their  claims  to  Texas 
as  a  revolted  province,  and  the  prompt  and  ener- 
getic course  pursued  by  Mr.  Polk  was  sanctioned 
and  sustained  by  a  large  majority  of  the  people. 

But  notwithstanding  the  advantageous  issue  of 
the  war,  the  acquisition  of  Texas,  and  the  satisfac- 
tory settlement  of  several  vexed  questions  of  long 
standing,  Mr.  Polk  was  not  nominated  for  a  second 
term— various  other  reasons  leading  to  the  selec- 
tion of  another  candidate.  Perhaps  it  was  fortu- 
nate for  the  country  and  for  himself  that  he  was 
permitted  to  retire  to  the  more  congenial  enjoy- 
ment of  private  life ;  for  his  health  had  become 
-very  much  impaired,  and  he  did  not  long  survive 
after  reaching  his  home  in  Nashville.  He  died 
June  15,  1849. 

President  Polk's  wife  was  Sarah  Childress,  born 
near  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  September  4,  1803  ;  died 
in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  August  14,  1891.  She  was  a 
very  handsome  and  well  educated  woman. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  199 

ZACHARY  TAYLOR, 
TWELFTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  VSTATES, 

Was  born  in  Orange  County,  Virginia,  November 
24,  1790,  and,  after  receiving  an  indifferent  educa- 
tion, passed  a  considerable  portion  of  his  boyhood 
amid  the  stirring  scenes  which  were  being  enacted 
at  that  time  on  our  western  border.  In  1808  he  was 
appointed  a  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  infantry, 
and  subsequently  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  for 
his  efficient  services  against  the  Indians.  Soon 
after  the  declaration  of  war  in  1812  he  was  placed 
in  command  of  Fort  Harrison,  which  he  so  gal- 
lantly defended  with  a  handful  of  men  against  the 
attack  of  a  large  body  of  savages,  as  to  win  the 
brevet  rank  of  major.  So  familiar  did  he  become 
with  the  Indian  character,  and  with  the  mode  of 
warfare  of  that  wily  foe,  that  his  services  at  the 
West  and  South  were  deemed  indispensable  in  the 
subjugation  and  removal  of  several  hostile  tribes. 
While  effecting  these  desirable  objects,  he  was  oc- 
casionally rewarded  for  his  toils  and  sacrifices  by 
gradual  promotion,  and  in  1840  attained  the  rank 
of  brigadier-general.  At  the  commencement  of 
the  troubles  with  Mexico,  in  1845,  he  was  ordered 
to  occupy  a  position  on  the  American  side  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  but  not  to  cross  that  river  unless  at- 
tacked by  the  Mexicans.  He  was  not,  however, 
allowed  to  remain  long  in  repose :  the  enemy,  by 
attacking  Fort  Brown,  which  he  had  built  on  the 
Rio  Grande,  opposite  Matamoras,  soon  afforded 
him  an  opportunity  to  display  his  skill  and  valor, 
and  gloriously  did  he  improve  it.  The  brilliant 
battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  where 
he  contended  successfully  against  fearful  odds, 
were  precursors  to  a  series  of  victories  which  have 
few  parallels  in  military  annals.  The  attack  on 
Matamoras,  the  storming  of  Monterey,  the  san- 
guinary contest  at  Buena  Vista,  and  the  numerous 


200  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

skirmishes  in  which  he  was  engaged,  excited  uni- 
versal admiration  ;  and  on  his  return  home,  after 
so  signally  aiding  to  "conquer  a  peace"  with 
Mexico,  he  was  everywhere  received  with  the  most 
gratifying  demonstrations  of  respect  and  affection. 
In  1848  General  Taylor  received  the  nomination  of 
the  Whig  party  for  the  office  of  President  of  the 
United  States,  and,  being  elected,  was  inaugurated 
the  year  following.  But  the  cares  and  responsi- 
bilities of  this  position  were  greater  than  his  con- 
stitution could  endure,  hardened  as  it  had  been 
both  in  Indian  and  civilized  warfare.  After  the 
lapse  of  little  more  than  a  year  from  the  time  he 
entered  the  White  House,  he  succumbed  to  disease, 
dying  July  9,  1850. 

President  Taylor's  wife,  Margaret  Smith,  was 
born  in  Calvert  County,  Maryland,  in  1790.  She 
died  near  Pascagoula,  La.,  August  18,  1852.  She 
was  without  social  ambition ,  and  took  no  part  in 
the  social  duties  of  the  White  House,  leaving  these 
to  her  younger  daughter,  Elizabeth,  known  as 
"Miss  Betty." 


MlLLARD    FlLUVlORE, 

THIRTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  at  Summer  Hill,  Cayuga  County, 
N.  Y.,  January  7,  1800,  and  did  not  enjoy  the  ad- 
vantages of  any  other  education  than  what  he  de- 
rived from  the  then  inefficient  common  schools  of 
the  county.  At  an  early  age  he  was  sent  into  the 
wilds  of  Livingston  County  to  learn  a  trade,  and 
here  he  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  a  friend, 
who  placed  him  in  a  lawyer's  office — thus  opening 
a  new,  and  what  was  destined  to  be  a  most  honor- 
able and  distinguished  career.  In  1827  he  was  ad- 
mitted as  an  attorney,  and  two  years  afterward  aa 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  201 

counsellor  in  the  Supreme  Court.  Soon  attracting 
attention,  he  established  himself  at  Buffalo,  where 
his  talents  and  business  habits  secured  him  an  ex- 
tended practice. 

His  first  entrance  into  public  life  was  in  January, 
1829,  when  he  took  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the 
Assembly  from  Erie  County.  At  this  time  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  for  his  untiring  opposition  to 
imprisonment  for  debt,  and  the  people  are  indebted 
to  him  in  a  great  degree  for  the  expunging  of  that 
relic  of  barbarism  from  the  statute  book.  Having 
gained  a  high  reputation  for  legislative  capacity, 
in  1833  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  national 
House  of  Representatives.  On  the  assembling  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  Congress,  to  which  Mr.  Fill- 
more  was  re-elected  by  a  larger  majority  than  was 
ever  given  before  in  his  district,  he  was  placed  in 
the  arduous  position  of  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means.  The  measures  he  brought  for- 
ward and  sustained,  speedily  relieved  the  govern- 
ment from  its  existing  pecuniary  embarrassments. 
In  1847  he  was  elected  Comptroller  of  the  State  of 
New  York  by  a  larger  majority  than  had  been 
given  to  any  State  officer  for  many  years.  In  1848 
he  was  selected  as  candidate  for  Vice-President, 
General  Taylor  heading  the  ticket.  On  hiselection 
to  that  high  office,  he  resigned  his  place  as  Comp- 
troller, and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  President  of 
the  United  States  Senate.  The  courtesy,  ability, 
and  dignity  exhibited  by  him,  while  presiding  over 
the  deliberations  of  that  body,  received  general 
commendation.  Upon  the  sudden  death  of  Gen- 
eral Taylor,  Mr.  Fillmore  became  President,  and 
promptly  selected  a  Cabinet,  distinguished  for  its 
ability,  patriotism,  and  devotion  to  the  Union,  and 
possessing  in  an  eminent  degree  the  confidence  of 
the  country. 

After  serving  out  the  constitutional  term,  Mr. 
Fillmore  returned  to  Buffalo,  and  resumed  the 
practice  of  law.  He  died  at  Buffalo,  March  8, 1874. 


202  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

President  Fill m ore's  wife  was  Abigail  Powers, 
the  daughter  of  a  clergyman,  whom  he  married 
Feb.  5,  1826.  She  died  three  weeks  after  the  close 
of  his  administration,  having,  Irving  says,  received 
her  death-warrant  while  standing  by  his  side  on  the 
cold  marble  terrace  of  the  capitol,  listening  to  the 
inaugural  address  of  Mr.  Fillmore's  successor. 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE,* 
FOURTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  at  Hillsborough,  N.  H.,  November  23, 
1804,  and  early  received  the  advantage  of  a  liberal 
•education.  After  going  through  a  regular  collegiate 
course  at  Bowdoin  College,  which  he  entered  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  he  became  a  law  student  in  the  office 
of  Judge  Woodbury  at  Portsmouth,  whence  he  was 
transferred  to  the  law  school  at  Northampton, 
where  he  remained  two  years,  and  then  finished  his 
studies  with  Judge  Parker  at  Arnherst.  Although 
his  rise  at  the  bar  was  not  rapid,  by  degrees  he  at- 
tained the  highest  rank  as  a  lawyer  and  advocate. 

Jn  1829  Mr.  Pierce  was  elected  to  represent  his 
native  town  in  the  State  Legislature,  where  heserved 
four  years,  during  the  last  two  of  which  he  held 
the  speakership,  and  discharged  the  duties  with 
universal  satisfaction 

From  1833  to  1837  Mr.  Pierce  represented  his 
State  in  Congress,  and  was  then  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  having  barely  reached  the 

*  For  the  sketches  of  the  Presidents  from  George  Washington  to 
Franklin  Pierce,  inclusive,  I  am  largely  indebted  to  "  Wells'  Na- 
tional Handbook,"  a  patriotic  work  published  at  the  time  of  the 
civil  war.  For  the  idea  of  appending  sketches  of  the  wives  of  the 
married  Presidents  I  am  indebted  to  "  The  Presidents  of  the 
United  States,  edited  by  General  James  Grant  Wilson,  and  pub- 
lished by  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  from  which  admirable  work  I  have 
also  taken  the  data  regarding  those  ladies. — H.  M. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  203 

requisite  age  to  qualify  him  for  a  seat  in  that  body. 
Mr.  Pierce  was  re  elected  at  the  expiration  of  his 
senatorial  term,  but  resigned  his  seat  the  year 
following  for  the  purpose  of  devoting  himself 
exclusively  to  his  legal  business,  which  had 
become  so  extensive  as  to  require  all  his  atten- 
tion. 

In  1846  Mr.  Pierce  declined  the  office  of  Attorney- 
General,  tendered  to  him  by  President  Polk  ;  but 
when  the  war  with  Mexico  broke  out,  he  was  active 
in  raising  the  New  England  regiment  of  volunteers  ; 
and  afterward  accepted  the  commission  of  briga- 
dier-general. General  Pierce  at  once  repaired  to  the 
field  of  operations,  where  he  distinguished  himself 
in  several  hard  fought  battles.  At  Cerro-Gordo  and 
at  Chapultepec  he  displayed  an  ardor  in  his  coun- 
try's cause  which  extorted  praise  from  his  most 
inveterate  pclitical  opponents ;  and  on  his  return 
home  he  was  everywhere  received  with  gratifying 
evidence  that  his  services  were  held  in  grateful 
remembrance  by  the  people. 

The  Democratic  Convention  held  in  Baltimore  in 

1852,  after  trying  in  vain  to  concentrate  their  votes 
on  a  more    prominent   candidate,   unexpectedly 
nominated  General  Pierce  for  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent   of    the    United    States,   to    which    he  was 
elected  by  an  unprecedented  majority  over  his 
rival,  General  Scott — receiving  254   votes  out  of 
296.     He  was  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March, 

1853.  His  administration  was  more  remarkable 
for  its  futile  attempts  to  reconcile  conflicting  inter- 
ests, than  for  the  achievement  of  any  particular 
measure  of  great  public  utility.  Mr.  Pierce  died  in 
Concord,  N.  H.,  October  8,  1869. 

The  wife  of  President  Pierce  was  Jane  Means 
Appleton,  born  in  Hampton,  N.  H.,  March  12, 
1806 ;  died  in  Andover,  Mass.,  December  2, 
1863. 


204  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

JAMES  BUCHANAN, 

FIFTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  in  Franklin  County,  Pennsylvania.  His 
father,  of  the  same  name,  was  an  Irishman  who  had, 
eight  years  before,  emigrated  from  Donegal,  and 
had  become  a  well-to-do  farmer.  The  son  completed 
his  education  at  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle,  and 
took  his  degree  in  1809  He  then  applied  himself 
to  the  study  of  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1812,  and  settled  at  Lancaster,  in  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  great  struggle  between  President  Jackson 
and  the  party  headed  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  Buchanan 
warmly  defended  the  President  and  his  claims. 
In  the  first  years  of  the  movement  against  slavery 
he  saw  the  large  results  which  were  likely  to 
follow,  and  desired  to  suppress  the  agitation  in  its 
infancy,  and  to  do  this  by  suppressing  the  discussion 
of  the  subject  in  Congress.  He  advocated  the  recog- 
nition by  Congress  of  the  independence  of  Texas, 
and  at  a  later  time  its  annexation.  During  the 
presidency  of  Van  Buren,  Buchanan  greatly  distin- 
guished himself  in  support  of  the  principal  meas- 
ure of  the  government — the  establishment  of  an 
independent  treasury.  In  1845  he  was  appointed 
Secretary  of  State  under  President  Polk ;  and  at 
the  close  of  his  term  of  office  in  1849,  ^e  retired 
to  private  life.  Four  years  later  he  accepted 
from  President  Pierce  the  post  of  United  States 
Minister  to  Great  Britain. 

He  returned  from  England  in  1856,  and  the  same 
year  was  nominated  as  Democratic  candidate  for 
the  Presidential  chair.  For  a  short  time  there 
seemed  to  be  ground  for  hope  that  political  pas- 
sions and  excitement  would  subside.  But  this 
hope  was  soon  found  to  be  fallacious.  The  troubles 
in  Kansas  and  the  large  questions  involved  in  them 
gave  rise  to  new  discussions  and  division.  The 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  205 

President  gave  his  support  to  the  pro-slavery  party, 
and  dissensions  grew  during  his  administration  to 
such  an  extent  that  disruption  and  war  between 
North  and  South  followed  the  election  of  his  suc- 
cessor, President  Lincoln.  From  the  close  of  his 
administration  in  i86ountil  his  death,  Buchanan  led 
a  retired  life.  He  died  at  Wheatland,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, June  i,  1868.  Two  years  before  his  death  he 
published  an  account  of  his  administration. 
President  Buchanan  was  never  married. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
THE  SIXTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES, 

Was  born  in  Hardin  County,  Kentucky,  Febru- 
ary 12,  1809,  of  poor  and  struggling  parents.  His 
father,  Thomas  Lincoln,  was  somewhat  shiftless, 
but  his  mother  was  a  woman  of  superior  intellect, 
who  did  all  she  could  for  her  children.  She  died 
when  Abraham  was  about  nine  years  of  age.  The 
family  cabin  was  in  a  wild  region  with  little  oppor- 
tunity for  even  the  most  ordinary  education,  but 
Lincoln  learned  all  that  the  backwoods  teachers 
could  impart.  When  nineteen  years  of  age  he 
could  write  clearly  and  correctly,  and  showed  such 
business  capacity  that  he  was  intrusted  with  car- 

§3es  of  farm  products  which  he  took  to  New 
rleans  and  sold.  In  1830  Lincoln's  father  emi- 
grated to  Macon  County,  Illinois.  Lincoln  was 
now  six  feet  four  inches  in  height  and  of  immense 
muscular  strength.  He  assisted  his  father  to  build 
a  cabin,  split  rails,  and  clear  the  ground  for  plant- 
ing. This  being  accomplished  Abraham  sought 
other  employment,  using  his  leisure  time,  as  before, 
in  constant  reading.  He  learned  the  elements  of 


2o6  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

English  grammar  and  began  to  study  the  principles 
of  law.  When  the  Black  Hawk  war  broke  out 
Lincoln  served  for  about  three  months,  being  mus- 
tered out  by  Lieutenant  Robert  Anderson,  who 
afterward  commanded  at  Fort  Suniter  when  the 
shots  were  fired  that  opened  the  rebellion.  The 
young  man  was  resolved  not  to  stay  in  the  ruts  and 
he  obtained  a  nomination  for  the  legislature.  He 
was  defeated,  but  received  a  good  number  of  votes, 
including  nearly  all  from  his  own  neighborhood. 
He  now  thought  seriously  of  becoming  a  black- 
smith, but  concluded  to  buy  out  a  store,  giving  his 
notes  for  the  stock.  The  business  was  ruined  by  a 
worthless  partner,  but  Lincoln  faithfully  met  the 
notes  in  full,  enduring  much  hardship  and  privation 
to  do  so.  In  August,  1834,  he  was  at  length 
elected  to  the  legislature,  and  was  re-elected  until 
1840.  He  took  rank  from  the  first  among  the  lead- 
ing members  of  that  body,  and  having  acquired 
some  knowledge  of  law  he  removed  to  Springfield, 
111.,  and  entered  into  a  law  partnership.  In 
1846  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  to  Congress.  He  was 
not  a  candidate  for  re-election  at  the  close  of  his 
term,  but  was  recognized  everywhere  as  the  leader 
of  the  Whig  party  in  Illinois.  The  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  aroused  all  the  energies  of  bis 
nature,  and  his  eloquent  protests  against  that  breach 
of  faith  evoked  a  responsive  echo  throughout  the 
West.  When  the  Republican  party  was  organized 
Lincoln  became  its  chief  in  Illinois,  and  when  in 
1858  Senator  Douglas  sought  a  re-election  to  the 
Senate  the  Republicans  put  Lincoln  forward  as  his 
antagonist.  Their  "joint  discussions  "  are  historic. 
They  dealt  with  the  question  of  slavery  and  excited 
interest  throughout  the  whole  country.  In  brief 
they  introduced  the  United  States  to  the  future 
President.  In  May,  1860,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  nomi- 
nated for  President  by  the  Republicans  on  the  third 
ballot,  William  H.  Seward,  of  New  York,  being  his 
principal  competitor.  Thenceforward  Abraham 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  207 

Lincoln  was  a  part  of  the  nation's  life,  and  his  his- 
tory, down  to  the  day  of  his  death,  April  15,  1865, 
from  an  assassin's  cowardly  shot,  is  the  history  of 
the  civil  war.  Of  Lincoln's  character  Robert  G. 
Ingersoll  has  eloquently  said  : 

"Hundreds  of  people  are  now  engaged  in 
smoothing  out  the  lines  of  Lincoln's  face,  forcing; 
all  features  to  the  common  mold,  so  that  he  may- 
be known,  not  as  he  really  was,  but,  according  to 
their  poor  standard,  as  he  should  have  been. 
Lincoln  was  not  a  type.  He  stands  alone,  no  an- 
cestors, no  fellows  and  no  successors.  He  had  the 
advantage  of  living  in  a  new  country,  of  social 
equality,  of  personal  freedom,  of  seeing  in  the 
horizon  of  his  future  the  perpetual  star  of  hope. 
He  preserved  his  individuality  and  his  self-respect. 
He  knew  and  mingled  with  men  of  every  kind ; 
and,  after  all,  men  are  the  best  books.  He  became 
acquainted  with  the  ambitions  and  hopes  of  the 
heart,  the  means  used  to  accomplish  ends,  the 
springs  of  action  and  the  seeds  of  thought.  He 
was  familiar  with  nature,  with  actual  things,  with 
common  facts.  He  loved  and  appreciated  the  poem 
of  the  year,  the  drama  of  the  season. 

"  Lincoln  was  an  immense  personality  ;  firm,  but 
not  obstinate.  Obstinacy  is  egotism ;  firmness,, 
heroism.  He  influenced  others  without  effort, 
unconsciously,  and  they  submitted  to  him  as  men 
submit  to  nature,  unconsciously.  He  was  severe 
with  himself,  and  for  that  reason  lenient  with 
others.  He  appeared  to  apologize  for  being 
kinder  than  his  fellows.  He  did  merciful  things 
as  stealthily  as  others  committed  crimes.  Almost 
ashamed  of  tenderness,  he  said  and  did  the  noblest 
words  and  deeds  w;th  that  charming  confusion ,. 
that  awkwardness  that  is  perfect  grace  of  modesty. 

"  He  was  an  orator,  clear,  sincere,  natural.  He 
did  not  pretend.  He  did  not  say  what  he  thought 
others  thought,  but  what  he  thought.  He  knew 
others,  because  perfectly  acquainted  with  himself. 


208  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

He  cared  nothing  for  place,  but  everything  for 
principle ;  nothing  for  money,  but  everything  for 
independence.  Where  no  principle  was  involved, 
easily  swayed,  willing  to  go  slowly,  if  in  the  right 
direction,  sometimes  willing  to  stop,  but  he  would 
not  go  back,  and  he  would  not  go  wrong.  He  was 
willing  to  wait.  He  knew  that  the  event  was  not 
waiting,  and  that  fate  was  not  the  fool  of  chance. 
He  knew  that  slavery  had  defenders  but  no  defence, 
and  that  they  who  attack  the  right  must  wound 
themselves.  He  was  neither  tyrant  nor  slave.  He 
neither  knelt  nor  scorned.  With  him  men  were 
neither  great  nor  small ;  they  were  right  or  wrong. 
Through  manners,  clothes,  titles,  rags  and  race  he 
saw  the  real.  Beyond  accident,  policy,  compromise 
and  war  he  saw  the  end.  He  was  patient  as 
Destiny,  whose  undecipherable  hieroglyphs  were 
so  deeply  graven  on  his  sad  and  tragic  face. 

"Nothing  discloses  real  character  like  the  use  of 
power.  It  is  easy  for  the  weak  to  be  gentle.  Most 
people  can  bear  adversity.  But  if  you  wish  to 
know  what  a  man  really  is,  give  him  power.  This 
is  the  supreme  test.  It  is  the  glory  of  Lincoln  that, 
having  almost  absolute  power,  he  never  abused  it, 
except  upon  the  side  of  mercy. 

"Wealth  could  not  purchase,  power  could  not 
awe  this  divine,  this  loving  man.  He  knew  no  fear 
except  the  fear  of  doing  wrong.  Hating  slavery, 
pitying  the  master,  seeking  to  conquer  not  persons 
but  prejudices,  he  was  the  embodiment  of  the  self- 
denial,  the  courage,  the  hope,  and  the  nobility  of 
a  Nation.  He  spoke,  not  to  inflame,  not  to  up- 
braid, but  to  convince.  He  raised  his  hands,  not 
to  strike,  but  in  benediction.  He  longed  to  pardon. 
He  loved  to  see  the  pearls  of  joy  on  the  cheeks  of 
a  wife  whose  husband  he  had  rescued  from  death. 
Lincoln  was  the  grandest  figure  of  the  fiercest  civil 
war.  He  is  the  gentlest  memory  of  our  world. " 

President  Lincoln's  wife  was  Mary  Todd,  born 
in  Lexington,  Ky.,  December  12,  1818;  died  in 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  209 

Springfield,  111.,  July  16,  1882.  She  belonged  to  a 
family  regarded  as  socially  far  above  Ivincoln, 
and  had  several  excellent  suitors  ;  but  she  saw  the 
worth  of  Lincoln,  and  accepted  him.  She  never 
recovered  from  the  shock  of  her  husband's  tragic 
death. 


ANDREW  JOHNSON, 
SEVENTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  bom  in  .Raleigh,  N.  C.,  December  29,  1808. 
He  died  near  Carter's  Station,  Tenn.,  July  31,  1875. 
His  parents  were  very  poor,  and  his  father  died 
when  he  was  four  years  old.  At  the  age  of  ten  he 
was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor.  He  learned  the  alpha- 
bet from  those  employed  with  him.  Johnson 
moved  to  Greenville,  Tenn.,  and  was  fortunate  in 
his  marriage  to  an  intelligent  woman,  Eliza  McCar- 
dle,  who  taught  him  to  write,  and  read  to  him 
when  he  was  at  work. 

In  Tennessee,  Johnson  acquired  prominence  as  a 
champion  of  the  people  against  the  land-holding 
aristocracy.  He  became  Mayor  of  Greenville,  and 
was  afterward  elected  to  the  legislature,  and  in 
1843  to  Congress,  and  remained  in  Congress  for 
ten  years,  when  he  was  thrown  out  by  the  ' '  gerry- 
mandering" of  district  lines.  Johnson  was  next 
elected  Governor,  and  so  earnestly  advocated 
measures  for  the  benefit  of  workingmen  that  he 
was  known  as  the  "Mechanic  Governor."  In 
1857,  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
where  he  strongly  supported  the  Union  cause, 
although  he  did  not  antagonize  slavery.  His  un- 
yielding opposition  to  secession  won  for  him  popu- 
larity in  the  North,  as  well  as  among  the  Unionists 
of  the  border  States.  He  supported  a  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war,  and  was  appointed  Military 


210  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Governor  of  Tennessee  by  President  Lincoln, 
March,  1862. 

Although  Johnson  had  always  been  a  Democrat, 
except  in  so  far  as  his  Unionist  course  estranged 
the  dominant  wing  of  the  part}"  from  him,  the 
Republicans  nominated  him  for  Vice-President  in 
1864,  and  when  Abraham  Lincoln  was  assassinated, 
Johnson  became  President.  In  that  office,  he 
soon  offended  the  Republican  majority  in  Congress 
by  the  veto  of  party  measures  of  reconstruction, 
and  his  defiance  of  the  Tenure- of-Office  Act  was 
made  a  ground  for  impeachment. 

Thirty- five  Senators  voted  for  conviction,  and 
nineteen  for  acquittal,  and  the  vote  for  conviction 
lacking  one  of  two  thirds,  the  President  stood 
acquitted.  After  the  expiration  of  his  term,  he 
went  back  to  Tennessee.  He  was  elected  to  the 
Senate  in  January,  1875,  and  died  near  Carter's 
Station,  Tenn.,  July  31,  1875. 

If  ever  a  wife  made  a  husband,  Eliza  McCardle 
made  Andrew  Johnson  by  helping  him  to  develop 
his  really  great  abilities.  She  was  born  in  Lees- 
burg,  Washington  County,  Tenn.,  October  4,  1810, 
and  died  in  Home,  Greene  County,  Tenn.,  January 
15,  1876.  She  appeared  little  in  society. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT, 
EIGHTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  at  Point  Pleasant,  Clermont  County, 
Ohio,  April  17,  1822.  He  was  descended  from 
Scottish  ancestors,  but  his  progenitors  for  eight 
generations  had  been  Americans.  His  father 
owned  a  tannery,  but  Ulysses  preferred  work  on  the 
farm.  He  attended  the  village  school,  and  in 
1839  was  appointed  a  cadet  in  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point.  His  name  had 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  211 

originally  been  Hiram  Ulysses,  but  it  was  entered 
erroneously  at  the  Academy,  and  the  family  acqui- 
esced in  the  error.  Grant  graduated  in  1843, 
twenty-first  in  a  class  of  thirty-nine.  Although! 
this  was  not  a  high  position,  the  writer  is  informed, 
that  Grant's  abilities  made  an  impression  on  at. 
least  one  fellow-cadet  who  afterward  joined  the- 
Confederacy.  As  a  second  lieutenant,  Grant  be- 
haved gallantly  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  was 
afterward  promoted  to  captain.  He  resigned  his- 
commission  July  31,  1854,  and  settled  on  a  small 
farm  near  St.  Louis.  Later,  he  became  a  clerk, 
in  his  father's  hardware  and  leather  store  at 
Galena,  111.  He  offered  his  services  to  the  Na- 
tional Government  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  but 
received  no  answer.  June  17,  1861,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Regi- 
ment of  infantry,  and  on  August  7,  he  was  promoted^ 
to  Brigadier-General.  His  career  during  the  civil 
war  cannot,  of  course,  be  recited  here.  He  wa& 
one  of  the  great  generals  of  the  century,  and  he 
proved  this  at  a  time  when  the  Confederacy  was 
in  the  zenith  of  its  power  and  resources,  as  well  as- 
when  he  was  pressing  on  relentlessly  to  Richmond. 
General  Grant  was  elected  President  in  1868,  anil 
served  two  terms — until  March  4,  1877. 

The  trouble  between  President  Johnson  and. 
Congress  prevented  reconstruction  from  making 
much  progress  until  Grant  took  charge  of  affairs^ 
His  administration  witnessed  the  award  of  $15, 500,- 
coo  for  Anglo-Confederate  depredations,  by  the 
Geneva  Tribunal,  and  was  distinguished  also  by 
the  financial  panic  in  1873.  When  Horace  Greeley, 
Democratic  and  Liberal  Republican  nominee  for 
the  Presidency  in  1872,  died  a  few  days  after  the 
election,  President  Grant  attended  the  obsequies. 
The  President  suppressed  with  a  firm  hand  disor- 
ders in  Louisiana  which  amounted  almost  to  civil 
war.  The  close  of  his  administration  was  made 
memorable  by  the  Hayes-Tilden  Presidential 


212  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

controversj'.  In  private  life,  General  Grant  was 
unfortunate,  being  victimized  by  dishonest  part- 
ners. He  died  of  cancer,  at  Mount  McGregor, 
July  23,  1885. 

Mrs.  Julia  Dent  Grant  survives  her  famous  hus- 
band. She  was  born  in  St.  Louis,  Mo  ,  January  26, 
1826,  being  descended  from  the  brave  Captain 
George  Dent,  who  led  the  forlorn  hope  at  the 
storming  of  Fort  Montgomery  in  the  Revolution. 
Captain  Grant  married  her  August  22,  1848.  Mrs. 
Grant  was  a  devoted  wife  and  mother.  She  saw 
her  husband  twice  inaugurated  as  President,  and 
accompanied  him  in  his  journey  around  the  world. 
Mrs.  Grant  resides  in  Washington. 


RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES, 

NINETEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  in  Delaware,  Ohio,  October  4,  1822.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  was  sent 
afterward  to  an  academy  and  to  Kenyon  College, 
Gambier,  Ohio.  On  his  graduation  in  August, 
1842,  he  was  awarded  the  valedictory  oration, 
-which  he  delivered  with  credit.  He  afterward  en- 
tered the  law  school  of  Harvard  University,  and 
finished  his  studies  there  in  January,  1845.  He  subse- 
quently settled  in  Cincinnati,  and  was  for  some  time 
city  solicitor.  He  had  strong  anti-slavery  feelings, 
and  became  captain  of  a  military  company 
promptly  after  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter.  June 
7,  1861,  he  was  appointed  major  of  the  23rd  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  on  September  19,  in  the 
same  year,  lie  was  appointed  by  General  Rosecrans 
judge  advocate  of  the  Department  of  Ohio.  Pro- 
moted to  lieutenant-colonel  in  October,  1861,  his 
gallantry  at  South  Mountain,  where  he  led  a 
charge  while  severely  wounded,  won  for  Hayes  the 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  213 

rank  of  colonel,  September  14,  1862,  and  as  Colonel 
Hayes  he  did  valuable  service  for  over  two  years, 
ever  distinguished  for  his  courage  and  intrepidity, 
and  always  at  the  post  of  danger  when  it  was  the 
post  of  duty.  He  won  the  rank  of  brigadier-general 
at  Cedar  Creek,  October  19,  1864,  and  on  March  13, 
1865  he  received  the  rank  of  brevet  major-general. 
In  December  of  the  same  year  he  took  his  seat  in 
Congress.  In  1867  General  Hayes  was  elected 
Governor  of  the  State,  although  the  Democrats 
carried  the  legislature.  He  was  re-elected  Governor 
in  1869.  In  1875  General  Hayes  was  again  elected 
Governor  on  a  sound  money  platform,  and  in  1876 
he  was  nominated  for  President  by  the  Republicans, 
against  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Democrat.  The  Electoral 
Commission  appointed  to  consider  the  disputed 
returns  reported  in  favor  of  General  Hayes,  and  he 
became  President.  His  administration  was  chiefly 
marked  by  the  withdrawal  of  United  States  troops 
from  the  Southern  States,  whice  were  thus  enabled 
to  assume  complete  local  self-government,  and  also- 
by  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  in  1879. 
After  his  term  as  President,  General  Hayes  retired 
to  private  life.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Fremont, 
Ohio,  January  17,  189^. 

The  wife  of  President  Hayes  was  Lucy  Ware 
Webb,  born  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  August  28,  1831  ; 
died  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  June  25,  1889.  Mrs.  Hayes 
was  distinguished  for  her  interest  in  temperance 
work. 


JAMES  ABRAM  GARFIELD, 
TWENTIETH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


Was  born  in  Orange,  Cuyahoga  Count}*,  Ohio, 
[ovember  19,  1831.  His  father  was  of  Puritan  an- 
sstry,  and  his  mother  was  of  Huguenot  descent. 


Nove 
ce 


214  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

The  mother  was  left  a  widow  with  four  small  chil- 
dren, of  whom  James  was  the  youngest.  His  early 
life  was  spent  in  poverty,  but  the  mother  was  a 
brave  and  conscientious  woman,  and  never  lost 
heart  in  the  struggle  to  support  her  little  ones. 
James  A.  Garfield  went  to  school  in  a  log-hut, 
where  he  learned  to  read,  and  at  ten  years  of  age 
he  helped  his  mother  by  working  at  home  or  for 
neighbors.  When  not  working,  he  was  reading. 
For  some  mouths  he  drove  a  boat  on  the  Ohio 
Canal,  and  he  also  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter. 
Young  Garfield  eagerly  sought  higher  education, 
and  saved  money  to  enter  college.  After  studying 
At  the  Hiram  Eclectic  Institute,  Portage  County, 
Ohio,  Garfield  came  East  and  entered  Williams 
College  in  the  autumn  of  1854.  He  was  duly 
graduated  with  the  highest  honors  in  the  class  of 
1856.  On  his  return  to  Ohio,  he  became  teacher 
at  Hiram  Institute,  and  afterward  its  president, 
and  he  also  pursued  the  study  of  law.  When  war 
•came,  Garfield  did  not  hesitate.  He  was  commis- 
sioned lieutenant-colonel  in  the  Forty-second 
Regiment  of  Ohio  Volunteers,  in  August,  1861, 
and  a  few  months  later  was  placed  in  command  of 
a  brigade  in  active  service.  He  proved  himself  a 
gallant  soldier,  and  his  victory  over  the  Confeder- 
ates at  Middle  Creek  won  him  a  commission  as 
brigadier-general.  As  chief  of  staff  to  General 
"Rosecrans,  then  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland,  General  Garfield  was  instrumental  in 
-carrying  the  information  to  General  Thomas  which 
saved  the  army,  and  prevented  Chickamauga  from 
"being  an  overwhelming  defeat  for  the  Union  troops. 
For  this  action  Garfield  was  promoted  to  major- 
general,  September  19,  1863.  He  had  been  elected 
to  Congress  fifteen  months  before,  and  at  the 
urgent  request  of  President  Lincoln,  he  resigned 
his  commission  to  uphold  the  arms  of  the  President 
in  Washington.  He  remained  in  Congress,  earn- 
ing a  high  reputation  as  a  statesman  and  party 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  215 

leader,  until  elected  United  States  Senator  in  1880, 
to  take  his  seat  March  4,  1881.  In  June,  1880, 
however,  General  Garfield  was  nominated  for 
President  by  the  Republican  party,  and  elected 
over  his  competitor,  General  Winfield  Scott  Han- 
cock. He  therefore  entered  the  White  House 
instead  of  the  Senate.  On  July  2,  1881,  President 
Garfield  was  shot  by  Charles  J.  Guiteau,  a  disap- 
pointed office-seeker.  President  Garfield  was  taken 
to  Elberon,  N.J.,  in  the  hope  that  the  change  would 
benefit  him,  and  died  there,  September  19,  the  same 
year. 

President  Garfield's  wife,  Lucretia  Rudolph,  was 
born  April  19,  1832,  in  Hiram,  Portage  County, 
Ohio.  She  met  her  husband  when  they  were  both 
students  at  Hiram,  and  they  were  married  Novem- 
ber ii,  1858.  Of  their  seven  children,  five  are 
living. 

CHESTER  ALAN  ARTHUR, 
TWENTY-FIRST  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES, 

Was  born  in  Fairfield,  Franklin  County,  Ver- 
mont, October  5,  1830.  His  father  was  the  Rever- 
end William  Arthur,  a  Baptist  clergyman,  of 
North  of  Ireland  descent,  and  his  mother  was  Mal- 
^vina  Stone,  of  American  pioneer  ancestry.  Young 
Arthur  had  a  good  education,  and  his  early  life  was 
not  attended  by  any  serious  trials.  At  eighteen 
years  of  age  he  was  graduated  from  Union  College, 
and  in  1853  he  came  to  New  York  city  and  began 
the  study  of  law.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Arthur  was  a 
strong  opponent  of  slavery  and  this  feeling  was  as 
strong  in  his  son.  The  young  lawyer  acted  as 
counsel  for  fugitive  slaves,  defending  their  claims 
to  liberty,  and  he  upheld  the  right  of  the  colored 


2i6  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

people  to  ride  in  the  street-cars.  Mr.  Arthur  left 
the  Whig  party  for  the  Republican,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  behalf  of  Fremont,  in  the  campaign 
of  1856.  In  1861  Governor  Edwin  D.  Morgan  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Arthur  on  his  staff  as  engineer-in-chief 
with  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  when  war 
began  General  Arthur,  as  acting  quartermaster- 
general,  began  preparing  the  troops  in  New  York 
city  for  the  field.  On  February  10,  1862,  he  was 
appointed  inspector  general,  and  he  inspected  the 
New  York  troops  at  Fredericksburg  and  on  the 
Chickahominy.  In  July  of  the  same  year  Gov- 
ernor Morgan  appointed  General  Arthur  quarter- 
master-general. General  Arthur  went  out  of  office 
when  Governor  Horatio  Seymour,  Democrat,  suc- 
ceeded Governor  Morgan,  but  his  administration 
of  the  quartermaster-general's  department  received 
high  commendation  from  his  successor.  General 
Arthur  thenceforward  devoted  himself  to  law 
practice  until  appointed  Collector  of  the  port  of 
New  York  in  November,  1872.  General  Arthur's 
administration  of  the  Collector's  office  was  made 
the  object  of  harsh  political  attack  and  searching 
investigation,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  ground 
for  his  removal  by  President  Hayes,  but  the  evi- 
dence showed  that  the  affairs  of  the  custom-house 
had  been  conducted  with  honesty  and  efficiency. 
After  r  tiring  from  the  collectorship  General  Arthur 
resumed  law  practice  until  elected  Vice-President 
with  General  Garfield  in  1880.  Upon  the  assas- 
sination of  Garfield,  Arthur  succeeded  to  the  Presi- 
dency. His  administration  earned  general  approval. 
His  course  was  moderate,  discreet  and  dignified, 
and  he  retired  from  the  White  House  with  the 
warm  esteem  of  many  who  had  been  bitterly  op- 
posed to  him  when  'they  knew  less  about  him. 
General  Arthur  died  in  New  York  city,  November 
18,  1886. 

General  Arthur's  wife,   Ellen   Lewis   Herndon, 
was  the  daughter  of  Commander  William  Lewis 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  217 

Herndon,  of  the  United  States  navy.  She  died 
January  12,  1880,  the  year  before  her  husband  be- 
came President.  President  Arthur's  sister,  Mrs. 
Mary  Arthur  McElroy,  acted  as  mistress  of  the 
White  House  for  her  distinguished  brother. 


GROVER  CLEVELAND, 

TWENTY-SECOND  AND  TWENTY-FOURTH  PRESI- 
DENT OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  in  Caldwell,  Essex  County,  New  Jersey, 
March  18,  1837.  His  father,  the  Rev.  Richard  Fal- 
ley  Cleveland,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  was  of 
old  New  England  descent.  His  mother  was  the 
daughter  of  a  Baltimore  merchant  named  Neal,  of 
Irish  birth.  Mr.  Cleveland's  full  name  was  Stepheo 
Grover  Cleveland,  but  the  Stephen  was  dropped  at 
an  early  period  in  his  career.  Young  Cleveland 
had  some  schooling  in  academies.  For  awhile  he- 
was  clerk  in  a  country  store,  and  later  he  became 
clerk  and  assistant  teacher  in  a  New  York  institu- 
tion for  the  blind.  In  1855  he  started  to  go  west  t& 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  search  of  employment.  At 
Buffalo  he  called  upon  a  relative  by  marriage, 
Lewis  F.  Allen,  a  well-known  and  influential  citi- 
zen. Mr.  Allen,  who  died  recently  at  about  ninety 
years  of  age,  related  the  story  of  young  Cleveland's, 
visit  to  the  editor  of  this  Hand  Book,  some  years  ago. 
Young  Cleveland  appeared  at  the  house  with  a 
bundle  under  his  arm  and  told  Mr.  Allen  he  was 
going  West.  Mr.  Allen  advised  him  to  remain  in 
Buffalo,  adding  that  the  youth  could  make  his. 
home  with  Mr.  Allen  until  he  could  find  something 
to  do.  Cleveland  consented  to  remain,  and  assisted 
Mr.  Allen  in  preparing  the  "American  Herd-Book,"" 
doing  his  work  at  the  very  desk  at  which  the  wrriter 
was  sitting  during  the  conversation.  In  1855  Mr. 


213  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Cleveland  obtained  a  place  as  clerk  and  copyist  for 
the  law  firm  of  Rogers,  Bowen  and  Rogers,  in 
Buffalo,  receiving  four  dollars  a  week  for  his  work 
during  the  autumn  of  that  year.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1859,  but  remained  three  years  longer 
with  the  firm  as  managing  clerk.  He  was 
appointed  assistant  district  attorney  of  Erie  County 
in  1863,  and  in  1865  was  Democratic  candidate  for 
district  attorney.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  defeated.  In 
1870  he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  Erie  County.  At  the 
expiration  of  his  three  years'  term  he  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  Lymati  K.  Bass,  the  Republican 
who  had  defeated  him  for  district  attorney,  the  firm 
being  Bass,  Cleveland  &  Bissell.  In  1881  Mr. 
Cleveland  was  elected  Mayor  of  Buffalo  by  the 
largest  majority  ever  given  to  a  candidate  in  that 
•city.  He  used  the  veto  vigorously,  and  won  gen- 
<eral  commendation.  In  1882  Mr.  Cleveland  was 
nominated  for  Governor  by  the  Democrats,  and  he 
was  elected  by  the  tremendous  plurality  of  192,854 
over  Judge  Charles  J.  Folger,  his  Republican  com- 
petitor. In  1884  Governor  Cleveland  was  nomi- 
nated by  the  Democrats  for  the  office  of  President 
against  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine,  and  after  a 
most  exciting  contest  Mr.  Cleveland  was  elected 
receiving  219  electoral  votes  to  182  for  Mr.  Elaine. 
He  made  "  tariff  reform  "  the  chief  aim  of  his  ad- 
ministration and  the  leading  issue  of  his  party. 
Renominated  in  1888  he  was  defeated  by  the  Re- 
publican candidate,  General  Benjamin  Harrison, 
of  Indiana.  Mr.  Cleveland  then  made  his  resi- 
dence in  New  York  city,  where  he  became  con- 
nected with  a  prominent  law  firm.  After  a  bitter 
contest  in  his  party  Mr.  Cleveland  was  renominated 
in  1892,  and  re-elected,  defeating  Mr.  Harrison. 
The  strength  of  Mr.  Cleveland  as  a  statesman  is  in 
his  ability  to  touch  a  popular  chord  at  the  right 
time.  He  says  right  out  what  others  are  thinking, 
and  his  courage  cannot  fail  to  command  the  respect 
even  of  his  most  hostile  critics. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  219 

President  Cleveland  married,  June  2,  1886, 
Frances  Folsom,  daughter  of  the  late  Oscar  Fol- 
som,  and  born  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  1864.  She  is 
the  first  wife  of  a  President  married  in  the  White 
House.  A  letter  of  President  Cleveland,  contain- 
ing eloquent  testimony  to  the  happiness  of  his 
married  life,  was  recently  made  public. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON, 
TWENTY-THIRD  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  August  26,  1833,  at  North  Bend,  Ohio, 
being  the  son  of  John  Scott  Harrison  and  the 
grandson  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  ninth 
President  of  the  United  States.  His  great  grand- 
father, Benjamin  Harrison,  was  a  delegate  from 
Virginia  to  the  Congress  which  made  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  The  father  of  ex-President 
Harrison  was  a  well-to-do  farmer,  and  young  Har- 
rison assisted  in  work  on  the  farm.  He  had  a  log 
school-house  education  to  begin  with,  and  when 
fifteen  years  old  he  went  to  Farmers'  (now  Belmont) 
College,  at  College  Hill,  a  suburb  of  Cincinnati. 
He  afterward  became  a  student  at  Miami  Univer- 
sity, and  there  became  acquainted  with  Miss  Caro- 
line L.  Scott,  whom  he  married  before  he  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  graduated  fourth  in 
his  class  in  1852,  and  studied  law  with  Storer  & 
Gwynne,  of  Cincinnati.  In  1853  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  in  1854  he  put  up  his  sign  as  an 
attorney  in  Indianapolis,  where  he  has  ever  since 
resided.  He  had  a  hard  struggle  to  gain  a  foothold, 
but  by  conscientious  and  constant  attention  to 
business  he  gradually  won  his  way  to  a  good  prac- 
tice, and  became  widely  known  as  a  skillful  and 
successful  practitioner. 

When  the  war  broke  out  Mr.  Harrison  was  mus- 
tered into  service  as  colonel  of  the  Seventieth 


220  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Regiment  of  Indiana  infantry  volunteers,  and 
served  with  great  credit  throughout  the  war,  first 
as  regimental  and  afterward  as  brigade  commander, 
being  present  at  the  surrender  of  General  Johnston 's 
army  at  Durham's  Station,  North  Carolina,  April 
26,  1865.  In  1876  General  Harrison  was  defeated 
as  Republican  candidate  for  Governor.  He  made 
a  brilliant  canvass  of  Indiana  and  other  States  in 
the  Garfield  campaign,  and  President  Garfield 
offered  General  Harrison  a  place  in  his  cabinet, 
which  he  declined.  General  Harrison  was  elected 
United  States  Senator  in  1882,  and  served  until 
1887.  His  course  in  the  Senate  strengthened  him 
with  his  party  and  with  the  country,  and  he  was 
selected  as  the  most  eligible  candidate  for  the 
Presidency  in  1888.  In  the  campaign  which  fol- 
lowed Mr.  Harrison  added  to  the  reputation  which 
he  had  previously  gained  as  one  of  the  best  orators 
of  the  age.  He  has  no  superior  and  perhaps  no 
equal  in  pithy,  effective  and  graceful  deliverance  in 
the  forum  and  on  the  platform.  Englishmen  have 
read,  as  Americans  have  heard  and  read,  his 
speeches  with  admiration. 

As  President,  Mr.  Harrison  upheld  with  firmness 
and  dignity  the  honor  of  the  nation  abroad,  while 
he  attended  with  equal  fidelity  to  the  interests  of 
the  people  at  home.  In  his  management  of  the 
Chilian  controversy  he  was  sustained  by  Congress 
without  regard  to  party.  During  the  first  two  years 
of  the  administration  six  new  States  formed  consti- 
tutions and  were  admitted  into  the  Union.  They 
were  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Washington, 
Montana,  Idaho  and  Wyoming. 

President  Harrison  exhibited  from  the  beginning 
a  desire  to  strengthen  the  United  States  navy. 
Reciprocal  treaties  were  made  not  only  with  the 
countries  of  South  and  Central  America,  but  with 
leading  governments  of  Kurope,  resulting  in  a  much 
freer  admission  than  heretofore  of  American  prod- 
ucts for  consumption  in  Germany,  Austria,  France 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  221 

and  Spain.  The  laws  and  regulations  relating  to 
civil  service  were  widened  and  extended  and  faith- 
fullv  enforced,  not  only  according  to  their  letter, 
but  in  accordance  with  their  spirit  as  shown  by  the 
order  which  allowed  only  skilled  mechanics  to  work 
on  the  new  war  vessels.  The  principal  event  of 
Mr.  Harrison's  administration,  however,  was  the 
passage  of  the  McKinley  law.  A  few  days  before 
the  election  of  1892  a  great  sorrow  came  upon  Mr. 
Harrison  in  the  loss  of  the  wife  who  had  been  the 
companion  of  his  struggles  and  successes.  Upon 
retiring  from  the  Presidency  General  Harrison  was 
engaged  by  the  late  Senator  Stanford  to  deliver  a 
course  of  lectures  at  the  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  Uni- 
versity, in  California,  on  constitutional  law.  The 
circumstances  of  President  Harrison's  marriage 
have  already  been  mentioned.  His  wife  Caroline 
Lavinia  Scott,  was  born  in  Oxford,  Ohio,  October  i, 
1832,  and  died  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  October  25, 


Congress  in  1886  passed  a  bill,  which  was  duly 
approved  and  became  law,  providing  that,  if  at  any 
time  there  should  be  no  President  or  Vice-President 
the  office  of  President  should  devolve  upon  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Cabinet,  the  order  of  succession  being  as 
follows:  The  Secretaries  of  State,  Treasury  and 
War,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Postmaster- 
General,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  the  Secre- 
tary of*the  Interior. 


22*  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

PART  XII. 
THE  LATEST  NATIONAL  PLATFORMS. 

REPUBLICAN — DEMOCRATIC — POPULIST — PROHI- 
BITIONIST. 

REPUBLICAN    PLATFORM   ADOPTED    AT    MINNE- 
APOLIS. 

"The  representatives  of  the  Republicans  of  the 
United  States,  assembled  in  general  convention  on 
the  shores  of  the  Mississippi  River,  the  everlasting 
bond  of  an  indestructible  Republic,  whose  most 
glorious  chapter  of  history  is  the  record  of  the 
Republican  party,  congratulate  their  countrymen 
on  the  majestic  march  of  the  Nation  under  the 
banners  inscribed  with  the  principles  of  our  plat- 
form of  1888,  vindicated  by  victory  at  the  polls  and 
prosperity  in  our  fields,  workshops  and  mines,  and 
make  the  following  declaration  of  principles  : 

Protection. — "We  reaffirm  the  American  doctrine 
of  protection.  We  call  attention  to  its  growth 
abroad.  We  maintain  that  the  prosperous  condi- 
tion of  our  country  is  largely  due  to  the  wise  rev- 
enue legislation  of  the  Republican  Congress.  We 
believe  that  all  articles  which  cannot  be  produced 
in  the  United  States,  except  luxuries,  should  be 
admitted  free  of  duty,  and  that  on  all  imports 
coming  into  competition  with  the  products  of 
American  labor  there  should  be  levied  duties  equal 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  223 

to  the  difference  between  wages  abroad  and  at 
home.  We  assert  that  the  prices  of  manufactured 
articles  of  general  consumption  have  been  reduced 
under  the  operations  of  the  tariff  act  of  1890.  We 
denounce  the  efforts  of  the  Democratic  majority  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  to  destroy  our  tariff 
laws  piecemeal,  as  is  manifested  by  their  attacks 
upon  wool,  lead  and  lead  ores,  the  chief  products 
of  a  number  of  States,  and  we  ask  the  people  for 
their  judgment  thereon. 

Reciprocity. —  "We  point  to  the  success  of  the 
Republican  policy  of  reciprocity,  under  which  our 
export  trade  has  vastly  increased,  and  new  and 
enlarged  markets  have  been  opened  for  the  prod- 
ucts of  our  farms  and  workshops.  We  remind 
the  people  of  the  bitter  opposition  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  to  this  practical  business  measure,  and 
claim  that,  executed  by  a  Republican  Administra- 
tion, our  present  laws  will  eventually  give  us  con- 
trol of  the  trade  of  the  world. 

Silver. — "The  American  people,  from  tradition 
and  interest,  favor  bimetallism,  and  the  Republican 
party  demands  the  use  of  both  gold  and  silver  as 
standard  money,  with  such  restrictions  and  under 
such  provisions,  to  be  determined  by  legislation,  as 
will  secure  the  maintenance  of  the  parity  of  values 
of  the  two  metals,  so  that  the  purchasing  and  debt- 
paying  power  of  the  dollar,  whether  of  silver,  gold 
or  paper,  shall  be  at  all  times  equal.  The  interests 
of  the  producers  of  the  country,  its  farmers  and  its 
workingmen,  demand  that  every  dollar,  paper  or 
coin,  issued  by  the  Government  shall  be  as  good  as 
any  other.  We  commend  the  wise  and  patriotic 
steps  already  taken  by  our  Government  to  secure 
an  international  conference  to  adopt  such  measures 
as  will  insure  a  parity  of  value  between  gold  and 
silver  for  use  as  money  throughout  the  world. 

Free  Ballot  and  Fair  Count. — "  We  demand  that 
every  citizen  of  the  United  States  shall  be  allowed 
to  cast  one  free  and  unrestricted  ballot  in  all  public 


224  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

elections,  and  that  such  ballot  shall  be  counted  and 
returned  as  cast ;  that  such  laws  shall  be  enacted 
and  enforced  as  will  secure  to  every  citizen,  be  he 
rich  or  poor,  native  or  foreign  born,  white  or  black, 
this  sovereign  right  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution. 
The  free  and  honest  popular  ballot,  the  just  and 
equal  representation  of  all  the  people,  as  well  as 
their  just  and  equal  protection  under  the  laws,  are 
the  foundation  of  our  Republican  institutions,  and 
the  party  will  never  relax  its  efforts  until  the  integ- 
rity of  the  ballot  and  the  purity  of  elections  shall 
be  fully  guaranteed  and  protected  in  every  State. 

Southern  Outrages. — "We  denounce  the  con- 
tinued inhuman  outrages  perpetrated  upon  Amer- 
ican citizens  for  political  reasons  in  certain  South- 
ern States  of  the  Union. 

Foreign  Relations. — "  We  favor  the  extension  of 
our  foreign  commerce,  the  restoration  of  our  mer- 
cantile marine  by  home-built  ships  and  the  creation 
of  a  Navy  for  the  protection  of  our  National  interests 
asd  the  honor  of  our  flag;  the  maintenance  of 
the  most  friendly  relations  with  all  the  foreign 
Powers,  entangling  alliances  with  none,  and  the 
protection  of  the  rights  of  our  fishermen.  We  re- 
affirm our  approval  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  and 
believe  in  the  achievement  of  the  manifest  destiny 
of  the  Republic  in  its  broadest  sense.  We  favor 
the  enactment  of  more  stringent  laws  and  regula- 
tions for  the  restriction  of  criminal,  pauper  and 
contract  immigration. 

Miscellaneous. — "We  favor  efficient  legislation 
by  Congress  to  protect  the  life  and  limbs  of  em- 
ployes of  transportation  companies  engaged  in 
carrying  on  interstate  commerce,  and  recommend 
legislation  by  the  respective  States  that  will  pro- 
tect employes  engaged  in  State  commerce,  and  in 
mining  and  manufacturing. 

"The  Republican  party  has  always  been  the 
champion  of  the  oppressed,  and  recognizes  the 
dignity  of  manhood, 'irrespective  of  faith,  color  or 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  225 

nationality ;  it  sympathizes  with  the  cause  of 
Home  Rule  in  Ireland,  and  protests  against  the 
persecution  of  the  Jews  in  Russia. 

"The  ultimate  reliance  of  free  popular  govern- 
ment is  the  intelligence  of  the  people  and  the 
maintenance  of  freedom  among  men.  We  there- 
fore declare  anew  our  devotion  to  liberty  of  thought 
and  conscience,  of  speech  and  press,  and  approve 
all  agencies  and  instrumentalities  which  contribute 
to  the  education  of  the  children  of  the  land ;  but, 
while  insisting  upon  the  fullest  measure  of  religious 
liberty,  we  are  opposed  to  any  union  of  Church 
and  State. 

Trusts. — "  We  reaffirm  our  opposition,  declared 
in  the  Republican  platform  of  1888,  to  all  com- 
binations of  capital  organized  in  trust  or  otherwise, 
to  control  arbitrarily  the  condition  of  trade  among 
our  citizens.  We  heartily  indorse  the  action  already 
taken  upon  this  subject,  and  ask  for  such  further 
legislation  as  may  be  required  to  remedy  any  defects 
in  existing  laws  and  to  render  their  enforcement 
more  complete  and  effective. 

.  Post  Office  Reforms. — "We  approve  the  policy 
of  extending  to  towns,  villages  and  rural  com- 
munities the  advantages  of  the  free  delivery  service 
now  enjoyed  by  the  larger  cities  of  the  country, 
and  reaffirm  the  declaration  contained  in  the  Re- 
publican platform  of  1888,  pledging  the  reduction 
of  letter  postage  to  one  cent  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment  consistent  with  the  maintenance  of  the 
Post  Office  Department  and  the  highest  class  of 
postal  service. 

Civil  Service. — "  We  commend  the  spirit  and 
evidence  of  reform  in  the  Civil  Service,  and  the 
wise  and  consistent  enforcement  by  the  Republican 
party  of  the  laws  regulating  the  same. 

Nicaragua  Canal. — "The  construction  of  the 
Nicaragua  Canal  is  of  the  highest  importance  to 
the  American  people,  both  as  a  measure  of  National 
defence  and  to  build  up  and  maintain  American 


226  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

commerce,  and  it  should  be  controlled  by  the 
United  States  Government. 

Territories. — "We  favor  the  admission  of  the 
remaining  Territories  at  the  earliest  practicable 
date,  having  due  regard  to  the  interests  of  the 
people  of  the  Territories  and  of  the  United  States. 
All  the  federal  officers  appointed  for  the  Territo- 
ries should  be  selected  from  bona  fide  residents 
thereof,  and  the  right  of  self-government  should 
be  accorded  as  far  as  practicable. 

Arid  Lands. — "  We  favor  cession,  subject  to  the 
Homestead  Laws,  of  the  arid  public  lands  to  the 
States  and  Territories  in  which  they  lie,  under  such 
Congressional  restrictions  as  to  disposition,  reclam- 
ation and  occupancy  by  settlers  as  will  secure  the 
maximum  benefits  to  the  people. 

Columbian  Exposition. — "  The  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition  is  a  great  National  undertaking, 
and  Congress  should  promptly  enact  such  reason- 
able legislation  in  aid  thereof  as  will  insure  a  dis- 
charge of  the  expenses  and  obligations  incident 
thereto,  and  the  attainment  of  results  commensu- 
rate with  the  dignity  and  progress  of  the  Nation.. 

Intemperance. — "We  sympathize  with  all  wise 
and  legitimate  efforts  to  lessen  and  prevent  the 
evils  of  intemperance  and  promote  morality. 

Pensions. — "  Ever  mindful  of  the  services  and 
sacrifices  of  the  men  who  saved  the  life  of  the 
Nation,  we  pledge  anew  to  the  veteran  soldiers  cf 
the  Republic  a  watchful  care  and  recognition  of 
their  just  claims  upon  a  grateful  people. 

Harrison's  Administration.  —  "We  commend 
the  able,  patriotic  and  thoroughly  American  admin- 
istration of  President  Harrison.  Under  it  the 
country  has  enjoyed  remarkable  prosperity,  and 
the  dignity  and  honor  of  the  Nation  at  home  and 
abroad  have  been  faithfully  maintained,  and  we 
offer  the  record  of  pledges  kept  as  a  guarantee  of 
faithful  performance  in  the  future." 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  227 

DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORM,  ADOPTED  AT  CHICAGO. 

"  The  representatives  of  the  Democratic  party  of 
the  United  States,  in  National  convention  assem- 
bled, do  reaffirm  their  allegiance  to  the  principles 
of  the  party  as  formulated  by  Jefferson  and  exem- 
plified by  the  long  and  illustrious  line  of  his  suc- 
cessors in  Democratic  leadership  from  Madison  to 
Cleveland  ;  we  believe  the  public  welfare  demands 
that  these  principles  be  applied  to  the  conduct  of 
the  Federal  Government  through  the  accession  to 
power  of  the  party  that  advocates  them,  and  we 
solemnly  declare  that  the  need  of  a  return  to 
the«e  fundamental  principles  of  a  free  popular 
government  based  on  home  rule  and  individual 
liberty  was  never  more  urgent  than  now,  when  the 
tendency  to  centralize  all  power  at  the  Federal 
Capital  has  become  a  menace  to  the  reserved  rights 
of  the  States  that  strikes  at  the  very  roots  of  our 
Government  under  the  Constitution  as  framed  by 
the  fathers  of  the  Republic. 

Elections  Z?z7/.--"We  warn  the  people  of  our 
common  country,  jealous  for  the  preservation  of 
their  free  institutions,  that  the  policy  of  federal 
control  of  elections,  to  which  the  Republican  party 
has  committed  itself,  is  fraught  with  the  gravest 
dangers,  scarcely  less  momentous  than  would 
result  from  a  revolution  practically  establishing 
monarchy  on  the  ruins  of  the  Republic.  It  strikes 
at  the  North  as  well  as  the  South,  and  injures  the 
colored  citizens  even  more  than  the  white  ;  it 
means  a  horde  of  deputy  marshals  at  every  polling 
place  armed  with  federal  power,  returning  boards 
appointed  and  controlled  by  federal  authority, 
the  outrage  of  the  electoral  rights  of  the  people  in 
the  several  States,  subjugation  of  the  colored 
people  to  the  control  of  the  party  in  power  and  the 
reviving  of  race  antagonisms  now  happily  abated, 
of  the  utmost  peril  to  the  safety  and  happiness 
of  all,  a  measure  deliberately  and  justly  described 


228  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

by  a  leading  Republican  Senator  as  '  the  most  infa- 
mous bill  that  ever  crossed  the  threshold  of  the 
Senate.'  Such  a  policy,  if  sanctioned  by  law, 
would  mean  the  dominance  of  a  self-perpetuating 
oligarchy  of  office-holders,  and  the  party  first  in- 
trusted with  its  machinery  could  be  dislodged  from 
power  only  by  an  appeal  to  the  reserved  rights  of 
the  people  to  resist  oppression  which  is  inherent  in 
all  self-governing  communities.  Two  years  ago 
this  revolutionary  policy  was  emphatically  con- 
demned by  the  people  at  the  polls,  but  in  con- 
tempt of  that  verdict  the  Republican  party  has 
defiantly  declared  in  its  latest  authoritative  utter- 
ance that  its  success  in  the  coming  elections  will 
mean  the  enactment  of  the  Force  bill,  and  the 
usurpation  of  despotic  control  over  elections  in  all 
the  States.  Believing  that  the  preservation  of 
republican  government  in  the  United  States  is 
dependent  upon  the  defeat  of  this  policy  of  legal- 
ized force  and  fraud,  we  invite  the  support  of  all 
citizens  who  desire  to  see  the  Constitution  main- 
tained in  its  integrity  with  the  laws  pursuant 
thereto  which  have  given  our  country  a  hundred 
years  of  unexampled  prosperity ;  and  we  pledge 
the  Democratic  party,  if  it  be  intrusted  with 
power,  not  only  to  the  defeat  of  the  Force  bill,  but 
also  to  relentless  opposition  to  the  Republican 
policy  of  profligate  expenditure  which,  in  the 
short  space  of  two  years,  has  squandered  an  enor- 
mous surplus,  emptied  an  overflowing  Treasury, 
after  piling  new  burdens  of  taxation  upon  the 
already  overtaxed  labor  of  the  country. 

Tariff. — "We  denounce  Republican  protection 
as  a  fraud,  a  robbery  of  the  great  majority  of  the 
American  people  for  the  benefit  of  the  few.  We 
declare  it  to  be  a  fundamental  principle  of  the 
Democratic  party  that  the  Federal  Government  has 
no  constitutional  power  to  impose  and  collect  tariff 
duties  except  for  the  purpose  of  revenue  only,  and 
we  demand  that  the  collection  of  such  taxes  shall 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  229 

be  limited  to  the  necessities  of  the  government 
when  honestly  and  economically  administered. 
We  denounce  the  McKinley  Tariff  law  enacted  by 
the  List  Congress  as  the  culminating  atrocity  of 
class  legislation  ;  we  endorse  the  efforts  made  by 
the  Democrats  of  the  present  Congress  to  modify 
its  most  oppressive  feature  in  the  direction  of  free 
raw  materials  and  cheaper  manufactured  goods 
that  enter  into  general  consumption,  .and  we 
promise  its  repeal  as  one  of  the  beneficent  results 
that  will  follow  the  action  of  the  people  in  intrust- 
ing power  to  the  Democratic  party.  Since  the 
McKinley  tariff  went  into  operation  there  have 
been  ten  reductions  of  the  wages  of  the  laboring 
man  to  one  increase.  We  deny  that  there  has  been 
any  increase  of  prosperity  to  the  country  since  that 
tariff  went  into  operation,  and  we  point  to  the  dull- 
ness and  distress,  the  wage  reductions  and  strikes 
in  the  iron  trade  as  the  best  possible  evidence  that 
no  such  prosperity  has  resulted  from  the  McKinley 
act.  We  call  the  attention  of  thoughtful  Ameri- 
cans to  the  fact  that  after  thirty  years  of  restrictive 
taxes  against  the  importation  of  foreign  wealth,  in 
exchange  for  our  agricultural  surplus,  the  homes 
aud  farms  of  the  country  have  become  burdened 
with  a  real  estate  mortgage  debt  of  over  $2,500,- 
000,000,  exclusive  of  all  other  forms  of  indebted- 
ness ;  that  in  one  of  the  chief  agricultural  States 
of  the  West  there  appears  a  real  estate  mortgage 
debt  averaging  $165  per  capita  of  the  total  popula- 
tion, and  that  similar  conditions  and  tendencies 
are  shown  to  exist  in  other  agricultural  exporting 
States.  We  denounce  a  policy  which  fosters  no 
industry  so  much  as  it  does  that  of  the  sheriff. 

Reciprocity. — ' '  Trade  interchange  on  the  basis  of 
reciprocal  advantages  to  the  countries  participating 
is  a  time-honored  doctrine  of  the  Democratic 
faith,  but  we  denounce  the  sham  reciprocity  which 
juggles  with  the  people's  desire  for  enlarged  foreign 
markets  and  freer  exchanges  by  pretending  to 


230  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

establish  closer  trade  relations  for  a  country  whose 
articles  of  export  are  almost  exclusively  agricul- 
tural products  with  other  countries  that  are  also 
agricultural,  while  erecting  a  custom-house  barrier 
of  prohibitive  tariff  taxes  against  the  rich  and  the 
countries  of  the  world  that  stand  ready  to  take 
our  entire  surplus  of  products  and  to  exchange 
therefor  commodities  which  are  necessaries  and 
comforts  of  life  among  our  people. 

Trusts. — "We  recognize  in  the  trusts  and  com- 
binations which  are  designed  to  enable  capital  to 
secure  more  than  its  just  share  of  the  joint  pro- 
duct of  capital  and  labor,  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  prohibitive  taxes  which  prevent  the  free 
competition  which  is  the  life  of  honest  trade,  but 
we  believe  their  worst  evils  can  be  abated  by  law, 
and  we  demand  the  rigid  enforcement  of  the  laws 
made  to  prevent  and  control  them,  together  with 
such  further  legislation  in  restraint  of  their  abuses 
as  experience  may  show  to  be  necessary. 

Public  Lands. — "The  Republican  party,  while 

land 
jiven 

„.._, ,  0_,  ._._ roads 

and  non-resident  aliens,  individual  and  corporate, 
possess  a  larger  area  than  that  of  all  our  farms  be- 
tween the  two  seas.  The  last  Democratic  adminis- 
tration reversed  the  improvident  and  unwise  policy 
of  the  Republican  party  touching  the  public 
domain,  and  reclaimed  from  corporations  and 
syndicates,  alien  and  domestic,  and  restored  to  the 
people  nearly  one  hundred  million  acres  of  valuable 
land  to  be  sacredly  held  as  homesteads  for  our 
citizens,  and  we  pledge  ourselves  to  continue  this 
policy  until  every  acre  of  land  so  unlawfully  held 
shall  be  reclaimed  and  restored  to  the  people. 

Silver. — We  denounce  the  Republican  legislation 
known  as  the  Sherman  act  of  1890  as  a  cowardly 
makeshift,  fraught  with  possibilities  of  danger  in 
the  future,  which  should  make  all  of  its  supporters, 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  231 

as  well  as  its  author,  anxious  for  its  speedy  repeal. 
We  hold  to  the  use  of  both  gold  and  silver  as  the 
standard  money  of  the  country,  and  to  the  coinage 
of  both  gold  and  silver,  without  discriminating 
against  either  metal  or  charge  for  mintage,  but  the 
dollar  unit  of  coinage  of  both  metals  must  be  of 
equal  intrinsic  and  exchangeable  value  or  be  ad- 
justed through  international  agreement,  or  by 
such  safeguards  of  legislation  as  shall  insure  the 
maintenance  of  the  parity  of  the  two  metals  and 
the  equal  power  of  every  dollar  at  all  times  in  the 
markets  and  in  payments  of  debts  ;  and  we  demand 
that  all  paper  currency  shall  be  kept  at  par  with 
and  redeemable  in  such  coin.  We  insist  upon  this 
policy  as  especially  necessary  for  the  protection  of 
the  farmers  and  laboring  classes,  the  first  and  most 
defenceless  victims  of  unstable  money  and  a  fluc- 
tuating currency. 

Banking. — "We  recommend  that  the  prohibi- 
tory 10  per  cent  tax  on  State  bank  issues  be  re- 
pealed. 

Civil  Service. — ' ' '  Public  office  is  a  public  trust. ' 
We  reaffirm  the  declaration  of  the  Democratic 
National  convention  of  1876  for  the  reform  of  this 
civil  service,  and  we  call  for  the  honest  enforce- 
ment of  all  laws  regulating  the  same.  The 
nomination  of  a  President,  as  in  the  recent  Repub- 
lican convention,  by  delegations  composed  largely 
of  his  appointees,  holding  office  at  his  pleasure,  is 
a  scandalous^satire  upon  free  popular  institutions 
and  a  startling  illustration  of  the  methods  by 
which  a  President  may  gratify  his  ambition.  We 
denounce  a  policy  under  which  federal  office- 
holders usurp  control  of  party  conventions  in  the 
Gtates,  and  we  pledge  the  Democratic  party  to  the 
reform  of  these  and  all  other  abuses  which  threaten 
individual  liberty  and  local  self-government. 

Foreign  Policy. — "The  Democratic  party  is  the 
only  party  that  has  ever  given  the  country  a 
foreign  policy  consistent  and  vigorous,  compelling 


232  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

respect  abroad  and  inspiring  confidence  at  home. 
While  avoiding  entangling  alliances,  it  has  aimed 
to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  other  nations, 
and  especially  with  our  neighbors  on  the  American 
continent,  whose  destiny  is  closely  linked  with  our 
own,  and  we  view  with  alarm  the  tendency  to 
a  policy  of  irritation  and  bluster  which  is  liable  at 
any  time  to  confront  us  with  the  alternative  of 
humiliation  or  war.  We  favor  the  maintenance 
of  a  navy  strong  enough  for  all  purposes  of  national 
defence,  and  to  properly  maintain  the  honor  and 
dignity  of  the  country  abroad. 

Foreign  Oppression. — "This country  has  always 
been  the  refuge  of  oppressed  from  every  land — 
exiles  for  conscience  sake — and  in  the  spirit  of  the 
founders  of  our  government  we  condemn  the  op- 
pression practiced  by  the  Russian  Government 
upon  its  Lutheran  and  Jewish  subjects,  and  we 
call  upon  our  National  Government,  in  the  interests 
of  justice  and  humanity,  by  all  just  and  proper 
means  to  use  its  prompt  and  best  effort  to  bring 
about  a  cessation  of  these  cruel  persecutions  in  the 
dominions  of  the  Czar,  and  to  secure  to  the  op- 
pressed equal  rights.  We  tender  our  profound  and 
earnest  sympathy  to  those  lovers  of  freedom  who 
are  struggling  for  home  rule  and  the  great  cause  of 
local  self-government  in  Ireland. 

Immigration. — "  We  heartily  approve  all  legiti- 
mate efforts  to  prevent  the  United  States  from 
being  used  as  a  dumping  ground  for  the  known 
criminals  and  professional  paupers  of  Europe,  and 
we  demand  the  rigid  enforcement  of  the  laws 
against  Chinese  immigration  or  the  importation 
of  foreign  workmen  under  contract  to  degrade 
American  labor  and  lessen  its  wages,  but  we  con- 
demn and  denounce  any  and  all  attempts  to  restrict 
the  immigration  of  the  industrious  and  worthy  of 
foreign  lands. 

Pensions. — "This  convention  hereby  renews  the 
expression  of  appreciation  of  the  patriotism  of  the 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  233 

soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Union  in  the  war  for  its 
preservation,  and  we  favor  just  an d.liberal  pensions 
lor  all  disabled  Union  soldiers,  their  widows  and 
dependents,  but  we  demand  that  the  work  of  the 
Pension  Office  shall  be  done  industriously,  impar- 
tially, and  honestly.  We  denounce  the  present 
administration  of  that  office  as  incompetent,  cor- 
rupt, disgraceful  and  dishonest. 

Waterways. — "The  Federal  Government  should 
care  for  and  improve  the  Mississippi  River  and 
other  great  waterways  of  the  Republic  so  as  to 
secure  for  the  interior  States  easy  and  cheap  transr 
portatiou  to  the  tidewater.  When  any  waterway 
of  the  public  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand 
the  aid  of  the  government,  that  such  aid  should 
be  extended,  in  a  definite  plan  of  continuous  work, 
until  permanent  improvement  is  secured. 

Nicaragua  Canal. — "For  purposes  of  National 
defence,  the  promotion  of  commerce  between  the 
States,  we  recognize  the  early  construction  of  the 
Nicaragua  Canal  and  its  protection  against  foreign- 
control  as  of  great  importance  to  the  United  States, 

World's  Fair. — "Recognizing  the  World's  Co- 
lumbian Exposition  as  a  National  undertaking  of 
vast  importance  in  which  the  General  Government 
has  invited  the  co-operation  of  all  the  powers  of  the 
world,  and  appreciating  the  acceptance  by  many 
of  such  powers  of  the  invitation  so  extended,  and 
the  broadest  liberal  efforts  being  made  by  them  to- 
contribute  to  the  grandeur  of  the  undertaking,  we 
are  of  the  opinion  that  Congress  should  make  such 
necessary  financial  provisions  as  shall  be  requisite 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  National  honor  and  pub- 
lic faith. 

Public  Schools. — "Popular  education  being  the 
only  safe  basis  of  popular  suffrage,  we  recommend 
to  the  several  States  most  liberal  appropriations  for 
the  public  schools.  Free  common  schools  are  the 
nursery  of  good  government,  and  they  have  always 
received  the  fostering  care  of  the  Democratic 


234  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

party,  which  favors  every  means  of  increasing 
intelligence.  Freedom  of  education  being  an  es- 
sential of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  as  well  as  a 
necessity  for  the  development  of  intelligence,  must 
not  be  interfered  with  under  any  pretext  whatever. 
We  are  opposed  to  State  interference  with  parental 
rights  and  rights  of  conscience  in  the  education  of 
children  as  an  infringement  of  a  fundamental  Dem- 
ocratic doctrine  that  the  largest  individual  liberty 
consistent  with  the  rights  of  others  insures  the 
highest  type  of  American  citizenship  and  the  best 
government. 

Territories. — "  We  approve  the  action  of  the 
present  House  of  Representatives  in  passing  bills 
for  the  admission  into  the  Union  as  States  of  the 
Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  we 
favor  the  early  admission  of  all  the  Territories  hav- 
ing necessary  population  and  resources  to  admit 
them  to  Statehood,  and  while  they  remain  Terri- 
tories we  hold  that  the  officials  appointed  to 
administer  the  government  of  any  Territory,  to- 
gether with  the  District  of  Columbia  aud  Alaska, 
should  be  bona  fide  residents  of  the  Territory  or 
district  in  which  their  duties  are  to  be  performed. 
The  Democratic  party  believes  in  home  rule  and  the 
control  of  their  own  affairs  by  the  people  of  the 
vicinage. 

Labor. — "  We  favor  legislation  by  Congress  and 
State  Legislatures  to  protect  the  lives  and  limbs  of 
railway  employes  and  those  of  other  hazardous 
transportation  companies,  and  denounce  the  inac- 
tivity of  the  Republican  party,  particularly  the  Re-  • 
publican  Senate,  for  causing  the  defeat  of  measures 
beneficial  and  protective  to  this  class  of  wage  work- 
ers. We  are  in  favor  of  the  enactment  by  the 
States  of  laws  for  abolishing  the  notorious  sweating 
system,  for  abolishing  contract  convict  labor  and 
for  prohibiting  the  employment  in  factories  of 
children  under  fifteen  years  of  age. 

Miscellaneous.—"  We  are  opposed  to  all  sump- 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  235 

tuary  law  as  an  interference  with  the  individual 
rights  of  the  citizen.  Upon  this  statement  of  prin- 
ciples and  policies  the  Democratic  party  asks  the 
intelligent  judgment  of  the  American  people.  It 
asks  a  change  of  administration  and  a  change  of 
party,  in  order  that  there  might  be  a  change  of  sys- 
tem and  a  change  of  methods,  thus  assuring  the 
maintenance  unimpaired  of  institutions  under 
which  the  Republic  has  grown  great  and  power- 
ful." 


The  Platform,  as  reported  from  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions,  contained  this  declaration,  as  the 
first  paragraph  of  Sec.  3,  with  the  heading  "  Rev- 
enue Tariffs  :  " 

"We  reiterate  the  oft-repeated  doctrines  of  the 
Democratic  party  that  the  necessity  of  the  govern- 
ment is  the  only  justification  for  taxation,  and 
whenever  a  tax  is  unnecessary  it  is  unjustifiable  ; 
that  when  custom-house  taxation  is  levied  upon 
articles  of  any  kind  produced  in  this  country,  the 
difference  between  the  cost  of  labor  here  and  labor 
abroad,  when  such  a  diffe ranee  exists,  fully  meas- 
ures any  possible  benefits  to  labor,  and  the 
enormous  additional  impositions  of  the  existing 
tariff  fall  with  crushing  force  upon  our  farmers  and 
workingtnen,  and  for  the  mere  advantage  of  the 
few  whom  it  enriches,  exact  from  labor  a  grossly 
unjust  share  of  the  expenses  of  the  government, 
and  we  demand  such  a  revision  of  the  tariff  laws  as 
will  remove  their  iniquitous  inequalities,  lighten 
their  oppressions  and  put  them  on  a  constitutional 
and  equitable  basis.  But  in  making  reduction  in 
taxes  it  is  not  proposed  to  injure  any  domestic  in- 
dustries, but  rather  to  promote  their  healthy  growth. 
From  the  foundation  of  this  government  taxes  col- 
lected at  the  custom  house  have  been  the  chief 
source  of  federal  revenue.  Such  they  must  con- 
tinue to  be.  Moreover,  many  industries  have  come 


236  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

to  rely  upon  legislation  for  successful  continuance, 
so  that  any  change  of  law  must  be  at  every  step 
regardful  of  the  labor  and  capital  thus  involved. 
The  process  of  reform  must  be  subject  in  the  exe- 
cution of  this  plain  dictate  of  justice." 

On  motion  of  Lawrence  T.  Neal,  of  Ohio,  the 
above  paragraph  was  struck  from  the  Platform  and 
the  following  substituted : 

"We  denounce  Republican  Protection  as  a  fraud, 
a  robbery  of  the  great  majority  of  the  American 
people  for  the  benefit  of  the  few.  We  declare  it  to 
be  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  Democratic  party 
that  the  Federal  Government  has  no  constitutional 
power  to  impose  and  to  collect  tariff  duties,  except 
for  the  purpose  of  revenue  only,  and  we  demand 
that  the  collection  of  such  taxes  shall  be  limited  to 
the  necessities  of  the  government  when  honestly 
and  economically  administered." 


THE  PEOPLE'S  PARTY  PLATFORM. 

"Assembled  upon  the  one  hundred  and  sixteenth 
anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
the  People's  Party  of  America,  in  their  first  Na- 
tional convention,  invoking  upon  their  action  the 
blessing  of  Almighty  God,  puts  forth,  in  the  name 
and  on  behalf  of  the  people  of  this  country,  the 
following  preamble  and  declaration  of  principles  : 

"The  conditions  which  surround  us  best  justify 
our  co-operation.  We  meet  in  the  midst  of  a 
nation  brought  to  the  verge  of  moral,  political  and 
material  ruin.  Corruption  dominates  the  ballot 
box,  the  legislatures,  the  Congress,  and  touches 
even  the  ermine  of  the  Bench.  The  people  are 
demoralized  ;  most  of  the  States  have  been  com- 
pelled to  isolate  the  voters  at  the  polling  places  to 
prevent  universal  intimidation  or  bribery.  The 
newspapers  are  largely  subsidized  or  muzzled, 


p 

Of 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  237 

iublic  opinion  silenced,  business  prostrated,  our 
.omes  covered  with  mortgages,  labor  impover- 
ished, and  the  land  concentrating  in  the  hands  of 
the  capitalists.  The  urban  workmen  are  denied 
the  right  of  organization  for  self-protection ;  im- 
ported pauperized  labor  beats  down  their  wages ; 
a  hireling  standing  army,  unrecognized  by  our 
laws,  is  established  to  shoot  them  down,  and  they 
are  rapidly  degenerating  into  European  conditions. 
The  fruits  of  the  toil  of  millions  are  boldly  stolen 
to  build  up  colossal  fortunes  for  a  few,  unprece- 
dented in  the  history  of  mankind,  and  the  posses- 
sors of  these  in  turn  despise  the  Republic  and 
endanger  liberty.  From  the  same  prolific  womb 
of  governmental  injustice  we  breed  the  two  great 
classes — tramps  and  millionaires. 

"The  national  power  to  create  money  is  appro- 
priated to  enrich  bondholders  ;  a  vast  public  debt, 
payable  in  legal  tender  currency,  has  been  funded 
into  gold-bearing  bonds,  thereby  adding  millions 
to  the  burdens  of  the  people.  Silver,  which  has 
been  accepted  as  coin  since  the  dawn  of  history, 
has  been  demonetized  to  add  to  the  purchasing 
power  of  gold  by  decreasing  the  value  of  all  forms 
of  property  as  well  as  human  labor,  and  the  supply 
of  currency  is  purposely  abridged  to  fatten  usurers, 
bankrupt  enterprise,  and  enslave  industry. 

"A  vast  conspiracy  against  mankind  has  been 
organized  on  two  continents,  and  it  is  rapidly  tak- 
ing possession  of  the  world.  If  not  met  and  over- 
thrown at  once  it  forbodes  terrible  social 
convulsions,  the  destruction  of  civilization,  or  the 
establishment  of  an  absolute  despotism.  We  have 
witnessed,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
the  struggles  of  the  two  great  political  parties  for 
power  and  plunder,  while  grievous  wrongs  have 
been  inflicted  upon  the  suffering  people.  We 
charge  that  the  controlling  influences  dominating 
both  these  parties  have  permitted,  the  existing 
iirsadful  conditions  to  develop  without  serious 


238  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

effort  to  prevent  or  restrain  them.  Neither  do  they 
now  promise  us  any  substantial  reform.  They  have 
agreed  together  to  ignore,  in  the  coming  campaign, 
every  issue  but  one.  They  propose  to  drown  the 
outcries  of  a  plundered  people  with  the  uproar  of 
a  sham  battle  over  the  tariff,  so  that  capitalists, 
corporations,  national  banks,  rings,  trusts,  watered 
stock,  the  demonetization  of  silver  and  the  oppres- 
sions of  the  usurers  may  all  be  lost  sight  of.  They 
propose  to  sacrifice  our  homes,  lives  and  children, 
on  the  altar  of  mammon ;  to  destroy  the  multitude 
in  order  to  secure  corruption  funds  from  the  mil- 
lionaires. 

"Assembled  on  the  anniversary  of  the  birthday 
of  the  nation,  and  filled  with  the  spirit  of  the  grand 
general  and  chieftain  who  established  our  inde- 
pendence, we  seek  to  restore  the  government  of 
the  Republic  to  the  hands  of  the  '  plain  people ' 
with  whose  class  it  originated.  We  assert  our  pur- 
poses to  be  identical  with  the  purposes  of  the 
National  Constitution,  to  form  a  more  perfect 
union,  and  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tran- 
quility,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote 
the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of 
liberty  for  ourselves  and  our  posterity.  We  declare 
that  this  Republic  can  only  endure  as  a  free  gov- 
ernment while  built  upon  the  love  of  the  whole 
people  for  each  other  and  for  the  nation  ;  that  it 
cannot  .be  pinned  together  by  bayonets ;  that  the 
civil  war  is  over,  and  that  every  passion  and  resent- 
ment which  grew  out  of  it  must  die  with  it,  and 
that  we  must  be  in  fact,  as  we  are  in  name,  one 
united  brotherhood  of  freedom. 

"  Our  country  finds  itself  confronted  by  condi- 
tions for  which  there  is  no  precedent  in  the  history 
of  the  world  ;  our  annual  agricultural  productions 
amount  to  billions  of  dollars  in  value,  which  must 
within  a  few  weeks  or  months  be  exchanged  for 
billions  of  dollars'  worth  of  commodities  consumed 
in  their  production  ;  the  existing  currency  supply 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  239 

is  wholly  inadequate  to  make  this  exchange  ;  the 
results  are  falling  prices,  the  formation  of  combines 
and  rings,  the  impoverishment  of  the  producing 
class.  We  pledge  ourselves  that,  if  given  power, 
we  will  labor  to  correct  these  evils  by  wise  and 
reasonable  legislation,  in  accordance  with  the  terms 
of  our  platform.  We  believe  that  the  powers  of 
government — in  other  words,  of  the  people — should 
be  expanded  (as  in  the  case  of  the  postal  service) 
as  rapidly  and  as  far  as  the  good  sense  of  an  intelli- 
gent people  and  the  teachings  of  experience  shall 
justify,  to  the  end  that  oppression,  injustice  and 
poverty  shall  eventually  cease  in  the  land. 

'*  While  our  sympathies  as  a  party  of  reform  are 
naturally  upon  the  side  of  every  proposition  which 
will  tend  to  make  men  intelligent,  virtuous  and 
temperate,  we  nevertheless  regard  these  questions 
— important  as  they  are — as  secondary  to  the  great 
issues  now  pressing  for  solution,  and  upon  which 
not  only  our  individual  prosperity,  but  the  very 
existence  of  free  institutions  depends  ;  and  we  ask 
all  men  to  first  help  us  to  determine  whether  we  are 
to  have  a  Republic  to  administer,  before  we  differ 
as  to  the  conditions  upon  which  it  is  to  be  adminis- 
tered ;  believing  that  the  forces  of  reform  this  day 
organized  will  never  cease  to  move  forward  until 
every  wrong  is  righted,  and  equal  rights  and  equal 
privileges  securely  established  for  all  the  men  and 
women  of  this  country,  we  declare,  therefore, 

11 1.  That  the  union  of  the  labor  forces  of  the 
United  States  this  day  consummated  shall  be  perma- 
nent and  perpetual ;  may  its  spirit  enter  into  all 
hearts  for  the  salvation  of  the  Republic  and  the 
uplifting  of  mankind. 

"2.  Wealth  belongs  to  him  who  creates  it,  and 
every  dollar  taken  from  industry  without  an  equiv- 
alent is  robberv.  '  If  any  will  not  work,  neither 
shall  he  eat. '  The  interests  of  rural  and  civic  labor 
are  the  same  ;  their  enemies  are  identical. 

"  3.  We  believe  that  the  time  has  come  when  the 


240  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

railroad  corporations  will  either  own  the  people  or 
the  people  must  own  the  railroads  ;  and  should  the 
government  enter  upon  the  work  of  owning  and 
managing  all  railroads,  we  should  favor  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  by  which  all  persons 
engaged  in  the  government  service  shall  be  placed 
under  a  civil  service  regulation  of  the  most  rigid 
character,  so  as  to  prevent  the  increase  of  the 
power  of  the  National" Administration  by  the  use 
of  such  additional  government  employees". 

Money. — "  i.  We  demand  a  national  currency, 
safe,  sound  and  flexible,  issued  by  the  General 
Government  only,  a  full  legal  tender  for  all  debts, 
public  and  private,  and  that  without  the.  use  of 
banking  corporations;  a  just,  equitable  and  effi- 
cient means  of  distribution  direct  to  the  people  at 
a  tax  not  to  exceed  2  per  cent  per  annum,  to  be 
provided  as  set  forth  in  the  sub-treasury  plan  of 
the  Farmers'  Alliance,  or  a  better  system  ;  also  by 
payments  in  discharge  of  its  obligations  for  public 
improvements. 

ltia)  We  demand  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
silver  and  gold  at  the  present  legal  ratio  of  16  to  i. 

"  (b)  We  demand  that  the  amount  of  circulating 
medium  be  speedily  increased  to  not  less  than  $50 
per  capita. 

"  (c)  We  demand  a  graduated  income  tax. 

"  (d]  We  believe  that  the  money  of  the  country 
should  be  kept  as  much  as  possible  in  the  hands  of 
the  people,  and  hence  we  demand  that  all  State 
and  national  revenues  shall  be  limited  to  the  neces- 
sary expenses  of  the  government,  economically 
and  honestly  administered. 

"  (e)  We  demand  that  postal  savings  banks  be 
established  by  the  government  for  the  safe  deposit 
of  the  earnings  of  the  people  and  to  facilitate 
exchange. 

Transportation. — "  2.  Transportation  being  a 
means  of  exchange  and  a  public  necessity,  the 
government  should  own  and  operate  the  railroads 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  241 

in  the  interest  of  the  people.  The  telegraph  and 
telephone,  like  the  post-office  system,  being  a 
necessity  for  the  transmission  of  news,  should  be 
owned  and  operated  by  the  government  in  the 
interests  of  the  people. 

Land. — "3.  The  land,  including  all  the  natural 
sources  of  wealth,  is  the  heritage  of  the  people,  and 
should  not  be  monopolized  for  speculative  pur- 
poses, and  alien  ownership  of  land  should  be 
prohibited.  All  land  now  held  by  railroads  and 
other  corporations  in  excess  of  their  actual  needs, 
r  and  all  lands  now  owned  by  aliens,  should  be  re- 
claimed by  the  government  and  held  for  actual 
settlers  only." 

The  following  supplementary  resolutions,  not  to 
be  incorporated  in  the  platform,  came  from  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  were  adopted,  as 
follows  : 

"Whereas,  Other  questions  having  been  pre- 
sented for  our  consideration,  we  hereby  submit  the 
following,  not  as  a  part  of  the  Platform  of  the 
People's  party,  but  as  resolutions  expressive  of  the 
sentiment  of  this  convention  : 

Elections. — "  i.  Resolved,  That  we  demand  a 
free  ballot  and  pledge  ourselves  to  secure  it  to 
every  legal  voter  without  federal  intervention, 
through  the  adoption  by  the  States  of  the  unper- 
verted  Australian  or  secret  ballot  system. 

Taxation. — "2.  That  the  revenue  derived  from 
a  graduated  income  tax  should  be  applied  to  the 
reduction  of  the  burden  of  taxation  now  resting 
upon  the  domestic  industries  of  this  country. 

Pensions. — "3.  That  we  pledge  our  support  to 
fair  and  liberal  pensions  to  ex-Union  soldiers  and 
sailors. 

Immigration.—"'  4.  That  we  condemn  the  fallacy 
of  protecting  American  labor  under  the  present 
system,  which  opens  our  ports  to  the  pauper  and 
criminal  classes  of  the  world,  and  crowds  out  our 
wage-earners  ;  and  we  denounce  the  present  in- 


242  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

effective  laws  against  contract  labor,  and  demand 
the  further  restriction  of  undesirable  immigration. 

Eight-hour  Law. — "5.  That  we  cordially  sym- 
pathize with  the  efforts  of  organized  workingmen 
to  shorten  the  hours  of  labor,  and  demand  a  rigid 
enforcement  of  the  existing  Eight-hour  law  on 
government  work,  and  ask  that  a  penalty  clause 
be  added  to  the  said  law. 

f*inkerion  Men. — "  6.  That  we  regard  the  main- 
tenance of  a  large  standing  army  of  mercenaries, 
known  as  the  Pinkerton  system,  as  a  menace  to 
our  liberties,  and  we  demand  its  abolition  ;  and  we » 
condemn  the  recent  invasion  of  the  Territory  of 
Wyoming  by  the  hired  assassins  of  plutocracy, 
assisted  by  federal  officials. 

Miscellaneous. — "7.  That  we  commend  to  the 
favorable  consideration  of  the  people  and  to  the 
reform  press  the  legislative  system  known  as  the 
initiative  and  referendum. 

%  "8.  That  we  favor  a  constitutional  provision 
limiting  the  office  of  President  and  Vice-President 
to  one  term,  and  providing  for  the  election  of 
Senators  of  the  United  States  by  a  direct  vote  of 
the  people. 

"9.  That  we  oppose  any  subsidy  or  national  aid 
to  any  private  corporation  for  any  purpose. 

"  10.  That  this  convention  sympathizes  with  the 
Knights  of  Labor  and  their  righteous  contest  with 
the  tyrannical  combine  of  clothing  manufacturers 
of  Rochester,  and  declares  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all 
who  hate  tyranny  and  oppression  to  refuse  to  pur- 
chase the  goods  made  by  the  said  manufacturers, 
or  to  patronize  any  merchants  who  sell  such 
goods." 

THE  PROHIBITION  PLATFORM. 

"The  Prohibition  party,  in  National  convention 
assembled,  acknowledging  Almighty  God  as  the 
source  of  all  true  government,  and  Kis  law  as  the 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  243 

standard  to  which  human  enactments  must  conform- 
to  secure  the  blessings  of  peace  and  prosperity,, 
presents  the  following  declaration  of  principles  : 

Liquor. — "  i.  The  liquor  traffic  is  a  foe  to  civili- 
zation, the  arch  enemy  of  popular  government, 
and  a  public  nuisance.  It  is  the  citadel  of  the 
forces  that  corrupt  politics,  promote  poverty  and 
crime,  degrade  the  nation's  home  life,  thwart  the 
will  of  the  people,  and  deliver  our  country  into  the 
hands  of  rapacious  class  interests.  All  laws  that, 
under  the  guise  of  regulation,  legalize  and  protect 
this  traffic  or  make  the  government  share  in  its 
ill-gotten  gains,  are  '  vicious  in  principle  and 
powerless  as  a  remedy.'  We  declare  anew  for  the 
entire  suppression  of  the  manufacture,  sale,  impor- 
tation, exportation  and  transportation  of  alcoholic 
liquors  as  a  beverage  by  Federal  and  State  legisla- 
tion, and  the  full  powers  of  government  should  be 
exerted  to  secure  this  result.  No  party  that  fails 
to  recognize  the  dominant  nature  of  this  issue  in. 
American  politics  is  deserving  of  the  support  of 
the  people. 

Woman  Suffrage. — "2.  No  citizen  should  be 
denied  the  right  to  vote  on  account  of  sex,  and 
equal  labor  should  receive  equal  wages,  without 
regard  to  sex. 

Money. — "3.  The  money  of  the  country  should 
consist  of  gold,  silver  and  paper,  and  be  issued  by 
the  General  Government  only,  and  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  meet  the  demands  of  business  and  give 
full  opportunity  for  the  employment  of  labor.  To 
this  end  an  increase  in  the  volume  of  money  is 
demanded.  No  individual  or  corporation  should 
be  allowed  to  make  any  profit  through  its  issue.  It 
should  be  made  a  legal  tender  for  the  payment  of 
all  debts,  public  and  private.  Its  volume  should 
be  fixed  at  a  definite  sum  rjer  capita,  and  made  to- 
increase  with  our  increase  in  population. 

Silver. — "  4.  We  favor  the  free  and  unlimited 
coinage  of  gold  and  silver.  (This  plank  was 


244  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

stricken  out  by  the  convention  by  a  vote  of  335  for 
it  to  596  against  it.) 

Tariff. — "5.  Tariff  should  be  levied  only  as  a 
defence  against  foreign  governments  which  levy 
tariff  upon  or  bar  out  our  products  from  their  mar- 
kets, revenues  being  incidental.  The  residue  of 
means  necessary  to  an  economical  administration 
of  the  government  should  be  raised  by  levying  a 
burden  on  what  the  people  possess,  instead  of  upon 
what  they  consume. 

Corporations. — "  6.  Railroad,  telegraph  and 
other  public  corporations  should  be  controlled  by 
the  government  in  the  interest  of  the  people,  and 
no  higher  charges  allowed  than  necessary  to  give 
fair  interest  on  the  capital  actually  invested. 

Immigration  and  Naturalization. — "7.  Foreign 
immigration  has  become  a  burden  upon  industry, 
one  of  the  factors  in  depressing  wages  and  causing 
discontent ;  therefore  our  immigration  laws  should 
be  revised  and  strictly  enforced.  The  time  of  resi- 
dence for  naturalization  should  be  extended,  and 
no  naturalized  person  should  be  allowed  to  vote 
until  one  year  after  he  becomes  a  citizen. 

Land. — "8.  Non-resident  aliens  should  not  be 
allowed  to  acquire  land  in  this  country,  and  we 
favor  the  limitation  of  individual  and  corporate 
ownership  of  land.  All  unearned  grants  of  lands 
to  railroad  companies  or  other  corporations  should 
be  reclaimed. 

Mob  Law. — "  9.  Years  of  inaction  and  treachery 
on  the  part  of  the  Republican  and  Democratic  par- 
ties have  resulted  in  the  present  reign  of  mob  law, 
and  we  demand  that  every  citizen  be  protected  in 
the  right  of  trial  by  constitutional  tribunals. 

Miscellaneous. — "  ip.  All  men  should  be  pro- 
tected by  law  in  their  right  to  one  day  of  rest  in 
seven. 

"n.  Arbitration  is  the  wisest  and  most  economi- 
cal and  humane  method  of  settling  national  dif- 
ferences. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  245 

"12.  Speculations  in  margins,  the  cornering  of 
grain,  money  and  products,  and  the  formation  of 
pools,  trusts  and  combinations  for  the  arbitrary 
advancement  ot  prices  should  be  suppressed. 

"  13.  We  pledge  that  the  Prohibition  party  if 
elected  to  power  will  ever  grant  just  pensions  to 
disabled  veterans  of  the  Union  Army  and  Navy, 
their  widows  and  orphans. 

"14.  We  stand  unequivocally  for  the  American 
public  school,  and  opposed  to  any  appropriation  of 
public  moneys  for  sectarian  schools.  We  declare 
that  only  by  united  support  of  such  common 
schools,  taught  in  the  English  language,  can  we 
hope  to  become  and  remain  a  homogeneous  and 
harmonious  people. 

Republicans  and  Democrats . — "15.  We  arraign 
the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  as  false  to 
the  standards  reared  by  their  founders ;  as  faithless 
to  the  principles  of  the  illustrious  leaders  of  the 
past  to  whom  they  do  homage  with  the  lips  ;  as 
recreant  to  the  '  higher  law, '  which  is  as  inflexible 
in  political  affairs  as  in  personal  life,  and  as  no 
longer  embodying  the  aspirations  of  the  American 
people,  or  inviting  the  confidence  of  enlightened, 
progressive  patriotism.  Their  protest  against  the 
admission  of  '  moral  issues '  into  politics  is  a  con- 
fession of  their  own  moral  degeneracy.  The  decla- 
ration of  an  eminent  authority  that  municipal  mis- 
rule is  '  the  one  conspicuous  failure  of  American 
politics,'  follows  as  a  natural  consequence  of  such 
degeneracy,  and  it  is  true  alike  of  cities  under  Re- 
publican and  Democratic  control.  Each  accuses 
the  other  of  extravagance  in  Congressional  appro- 
priations and  both  are  alike  guilty  ;  each  protests 
when  out  of  power  against  infraction  of  the  civil 
service  laws,  and  each  when  in  power  violates  those 
laws  in  letter  and  in  spirit ;  each  professes  fealty  to 
the  interests  of  the  toiling  masses,  but  both  covertly 
truckle  to  the  money  power  in  their  administration 
of  public  affairs.  Even  the  tariff  issue,  as  repre- 


246  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

sented  in  the  Democratic  Mills  bill  and  the  Repub- 
lican McKinley  bill,  is  no  longer  treated  by  them 
as  an  issue  between  great  and  divergent  principles 
of  government,  but  is  a  mere  catering  to  different 
sectional  and  class  interests.  The  attempt  in  many 
States  to  wrest  the  Australian  ballot  system  from 
its  true  purpose,  and  to  so  deform  it  as  to  render  it 
extremely  difficult  for  new  parties  to  exercise  the 
rights  of  suffrage,  is  an  outrage  upon  popular  gov- 
ernment. The  competition  of  both  these  parties 
for  the  vote  of  the  slums,  and  their  assiduous  court- 
ing of  the  liquor  power  and  subserviency  to  the 
money  power,  have  resulted  in  placing  those  pow- 
ers in  the  position  of  practical  arbiters  of  the 
destinies  of  the  Nation.  We  renew  our  protest 
against  these  perilous  tendencies,  and  invite  all 
citizens  to  join  us  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  party  that 
has  shown  in  five  national  campaigns  that  it  pre- 
fers temporary  defeat  to  an  abandonment  of  the 
claims  of  justice,  sobriety,  personal  rights  and  the 
protection  of  American  homes. 

Prohibition. — "  16.  Recognizing  and  declaring 
that  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic  has  become  the 
dominant  issue  in  national  politics,  we  invite  to 
full  party  fellowship  all  those  who  on  this  one 
dominant  issue  are  with  us  agreed,  in  the  full 
belief  that  this  party  can  and  will  remove  sectional 
differences,  promote  national  unity,  and  insure  the 
best  welfare  of  our  entire  land. ' ' 

For  the  third  resolution  a  minority  report  favored 
"  the  issue  of  legal-tender  Treasury  notes,  exchange- 
able in  gold  or  silver  bullion,  on  a  plan  similar  to 
that  which  now  floats  $340,000,000  of  greenbacks 
on  $100, 000,000  of  gold  reserve  and  makes  them 
more  acceptable  and  convenient  than  either  gold  or 
silver  coin."  This  was  defeated  on  a  rising  vote — 
yeas  316,  nays  337. 

For  the  fifth  resolution,  the  minority  reported  a 
substitute  declaring  that  the  tariff  should  be  so 
levied  as  to  furnish  revenue  for  the  needs  of  the 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  247 

government  economically  administered,  relieving 
necessities  used  by  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  for 
the  benefit  of  labor,  protecting  American  produc- 
tions and  manufactures  against  the  competition  of 
foreign  nations,  and  suggesting  the  appointment  of 
a  tariff  commission  to  recommend  to  Congress 
duties  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  government,  so 
graduated  as  to  protect  American  skill  and  labor 
ngainst  the  competition  of  the  world.  This  was 
defeated  by  a  large  vote. 

The  sixteenth  resolution  was  reported  by  a 
minority  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions.  After 
animated  debate  it  was  defeated,  its  friends  being 
unable  to  rally  the  200  votes  necessar}*  to  order  a 
vote  by  States.  Subsequently  it  was  taken  from 
the  table,  and  by  a  rising  vote  added  to  the  Plat- 
form ;  which,  with  the  fourth  paragraph  out,  was 
then  adopted,  as  reported  by  James  Black,  chair- 
man of  the  committee. 

During  the  proceedings,  on  motion  of  a  delegate 
from  Virginia,  speakers  were  requested  to  refrain 
from  unnecessary  references  or  illustrations  which 
"could  be  considered  as  a  reflection  on  participants 
in  the  war  of  the  rebellion." 


248  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

PART  XIII. 
THE  PENSION  ROLL. 

The  all-sufficient  warrant  for  a  just  and  liberal 
policy  toward  the  survivors  of  the  war  for  the 
Union,  and  the  widows  and  children  of  those  who 
have  passed  away  is  contained  in  almost  the  dying 
words  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  his  inaugural  ad- 
dress, March  5,  1865 — "With  malice  toward  none, 
with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right,  as 
God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  to  finish 
the  work  we  are  in,  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds  ; 
to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle, 
and  for  his  widows  and  orphans  ;  to  do  all  which 
may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace 
among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations."  The 
United  States  has  dealt  generously  with  the  Union 
veterans  of  the  great  struggle  upon  the  result  of 
which  depended  the  destinies,  not  of  this  nation 
only,  but  of  mankind,  and  if  the  cost  of  this 
generosity  is  tremendous,  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  conflict  was  the  most  tremendous  of 
modern  times.  The  principle  of  granting  pensions 
to  the  survivors  of  a  war  whether  they  were  injured 
or  not  is  not  new  in  American  history.  In  1818— 
thirty-five  years  after  the  war  of  the  revolution — 
pensions  were  granted  to  all  the  survivors  of  the 
war  who  for  any  reason  stood  in  need  of  pecuniar}- 
assistance.  In  those  days  there  were  not  lacking 
men  who  outpoured  abuse  and  contempt  on  the 
soldiers  of  the  Republic,  but  the  heart  of  the  peo- 
ple beat  responsive  then  as  it  does  now  to  valor, 
patriotism  and  truth.  I  read  from  a  publication  of 
1817,  now  before  me:  "The  Diomedes  and  Sar- 
pedons  of  our  history  remain  within  our  view  until 
the  streams  of  dotage  flow  from  their  eyes,  and  the 
weakness  of  second  childhood  succeeds  to  the 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  249 

firmness  of  early  manhood.  Posterity  will  see 
better  because  they  will  not  see  so  much,  and  will 
wonder  at  the  coldness  and  indifference  with  which 
we  regard  the  revolution  independent  of  its  con- 
sequences."  And  thus  it  will  be  with  the  civil  war. 
Honors  will  not  be  lacking  when  the  grave  will 
have  closed  over  the  last  of  the  brave  men  who 
followed  Sherman  and  Grant. 

The  pension  money  is  much  more  widely  dis- 
tributed among  the  States  than  might  be  supposed. 
The  Southern  and  border  States  have  no  small 
share  of  it.  Missouri  receives  nearly  two  millions 
of  dollars  more  than  Massachusetts,  and  Virginia 
more  than  Connecticut.  Texas,  another  State 
whose  people  went  with  the  Confederacy,  receives 
nearly  twice  as  much  pension  money  as  Oregon — a 
fact  due,  no  doubt,  in  a  large  degree  to  Northern 
immigration.  Arkansas,  one  of  the  States  of  the 
Confederacy,  closely  approaches  Vermont  on  -the 
pension  roll,  and  Kentucky,  which  earned  again 
during  the  war  the  title  of  the  "dark  and  bloody 
ground, ' '  is  high  in  the  list  of  pension  beneficiaries. 
The  following,  from  the  latest  accessible  report  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Pensions,  shows  where  the 
pension  money  goes  within  the  United  States  : 

UNITED  STATES.  NO.  AMOUNT. 

Alabama 3,648  $341,458  62 

Alaska  Territory 24  2,743  57 

Arizona  Territory 592  81,899  06 

Arkansas 10,160  1,393,254  96 

California 13*603  1,869,533  10 

Colorado 6,342  870,528  90 

Connecticut n»5o3  1,170,757  75 

Delaware 2,781  437,846  43 

District  of  Columbia 8,582  1,440,979  79 

Florida „  2,851  422,553  24 

Georgia 3,621  511,270  71 

Idaho 924  124,434  58 

Illinois 69,695  10,299,400  09 


250 


HAND  BOOK  FOR 


tmn-KD  STATES.                                     NO.  AMOUNT. 

Indiana 7°»34i  10,841,565  So 

Indian  Territory 2,593  328,213  n 

Iowa 38,495  5,760,363  95 

Kansas 43,530  .6,048,592  44 

Kentucky 29,582  4,313,043   17 

Louisiana 4,361  592,079  99 

Maine 20,385  3»°47,273  37 

Maryland I3»O35  1,666,294.  83 

Massachusetts 39,607  5,948,985  49 

Michigan 46,371  7,218,933  80 

Minnesota 16,633  2,353,450  35 

Mississippi 3,9^7  49^,610  46 

Missouri 54,179  7,603,813  31 

Montana 1,249  165,667  69 

Nebraska 18,577  2,730,019  98 

Nevada 203  27,273  84 

New  Hampshire 9,485  1,413,725  25 

New  Jersey 19,675  2,608,215  84 

New  Mexico  Territory  ....     1,283  1/9,573  55 

New  York ...   89,642  11,937,643  43 

North  Carolina 4,904  572-334  4° 

North  Dakota 1,597  186,761  55 

Ohio 99,837  14,737,191  54 

Oklahoma  Territory 5,176  684,885  85 

Oregon 4,423  597,395  28 

Pennsylvania 89,378  13,574,346  36 

Rhode  Island 4,160  418,923  86 

South  Carolina 1,668  223,742  40 

South  Dakota  .      5,290  75°»983  64 

Tennessee 16,815  2,658,725  63 

Texas 7,75#  1,030,282  82 

Utah  Territory 734  105,768  80 

Vermont 9,931  1,529,333  24 

Virginia 8,036  1,204,925  27 

Washington 5,456  733>294  52 

West  Virginia 14,947  2,159,023  33 

Wisconsin 28,516  4,019,524  6~> 

Wyoming 682  92,614  60 


Total  in  States  and  Territories,  965,947  $139,530,058  22 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  251 


PART  XIV. 

IMPORTANT   EVENTS   IN    AMERICAN   HIS- 
TORY. 

1 606.  A  charter  granted  to  a  company  in  England 
for  the   settlement  of  Virginia,  and   a  colony 
dispatched,  who  landed  at  Jamestown,  and  chose 
Edward  Wingfield  ruler. 

1607.  Soon  after  their  arrival,  Captain  John  Smith 
and  others  visited  the  native  chief,  Powhatan,  at 
his  principal  residence,  near  the  present  site  of 
Richmond. — Wingfield  was  deposed,  and  Smith 
appointed  in  his  place  ;  but  he  was  soon  after  cap- 
tured by  the  Indians,  and  detained  among  them 
for  some  time.     He  was  about  to  be  slain  by  the 
savages,  when  Pocahontas,  a  favorite  daughter  of 
Powhatan's,  rushed  between  him  and  the  clubs  of 
his  enemies,  and  finally  saved  his  life. 

1608.  When  Smith  returned  he  found  the  colonists 
in  a  very  bad  condition  ;  after  alleviating  it  as  far 
as  practicable,  he  explored  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
and  its  tributary  rivers. 

1609.  A  new  charter  granted  to  the  London  Com- 
pany enlarging  their  limits,  etc.,  and  Lord  De  la 
War  appointed  governor  for  life. 

1610.  In  consequence  of  being  injured  by  an  explo- 
sion of  powder,  Captain  Smith  returned  to  Eng- 
land, delegating  his  authority  to  George  Percy. — 
Lord  De  la  War  arrived  just  as  the  colonists  were 
about  leaving  for  England,  after  having  greatly 
suffered  from  disease  and  famine. — A  few  Dutch 
traders  settled  in  New  Amsterdam,    now  New 
York  City. 

1611.  Under  the  new  Governor  order  and  content- 
ment were  again  restored ;  but  his  health  rapidly 
failing    he    returned    home,    and    Percy    again 
administered  the   government  until   the  arrival 


252  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

of  Sir  Thomas    Daly,  by  whom  he  was  super- 
seded. 

1612.  The  king  granted    the    London    Company 
another  new  charter,  making  important  changes 
in  the  powers  of  the  corporation ,  but  not  affect- 
ing the  political  rights  of  the  colonists. 

1613.  John  Rolfe,  a  young  English  officer,  married 
Pocahontas,  an  event  which  had  a  beneficial  in- 
fluence on  the  relations  of  the   colonists  and 
Indians. 

1614-16.  Governor  Dale  returned  to  England,  after 
appointing  George  Yeardley  in  his  place.  The 
culture  of  tobacco  was  introduced  and  soon  be- 
came, not  only  the  principal  article  of  export, 
but  even  the  currency  of  the  colony.  The  Dutch 
began  a  settlement  in  Albany.  N.  Y. 

1617.  Yeardley  was  displaced  for  a  short  time  by 
Argall,  who  ruled  with  such  tyranny  and  injus- 
tice as  led  to  the  reinstatement  of  the  former. 

1619.  The  first  colonial  assembly  ever  convened  in 
America  was  held  at  Jamestown. 

1620.  In  August  a  Dutch  man-of-war  landed  twenty 
negroes  for  sale  at  Jamestown,  which  was  the 
commencement  of  negro  slavery  in  the  colonies. 
— Ninety  young  women  of  respectable  character 
were  sent  frooi  England  as  wives  for  the  colon- 
ists, the  prices  for  whom  were  fixed  at  from  120 
to  150  pounds  of  tobacco. — December  2ist  a  body 
of  Puritans,  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  Eug- 
land,  landed  at  Plymouth,  and  commenced  the 
settlement  of  New  England. 

1621.  The  London  Company  granted  to  the  Vir- 
ginia colony  a  written  constitution. — A  treaty  of 
friendship  was  concluded  between  the  Puritans 
and  the  principal  chief  of   the  Massachusetts 
tribe  (Massaspit),  and  similar  treaties  concluded 
with  other  chiefs. 

1622.  April  ist,  347  metf,  women  and  children  of 
the  Virginia  colony  were  savagely  butchered  by 
treacherous  Indians ;    but   Jamestown  and  the 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  253 

neighboring  settlements  were  saved  by  the  plot 
being  revealed  the  evening  before  its  intended 
consummation  by  a  friendly  Indian,  thus  put- 
ting the  inhabitants  on  their  guard. 

1623.  Miles  Standish  saves  the  settlement  of  Wey- 
mouth,  Mass.,  from  destruction  by  the  Indians, 
and  kills  their  chief. — First  settlement  formed  at 

•  Dover,  New  Hampshire. 

1624.  The  London  Company  was  dissolved,   and 
King  James  assumed  the  government  of  the  Vir- 
ginia colony. — New  Jersey  settled  by  the  Dutch. 

1627.  Delaware  settled  by  Swedes  and  Danes. 

1635.  Maryland  settled   by   Irish    Catholics,    and 
Connecticut  settled  by  a  branch  of  Puritans  from 
Massachusetts. 

1636.  Rhode  Island  settled   by   Roger  Williams, 
who  was  banished  for  his  liberal  religious  senti- 
ments by  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts. 

1637.  The  magistrates  of  the  three  infant  towns  of 
Connecticut — Windsor,    Hartford  and  Wethers- 
field — formally  declared  war  against  the  Pequod 
Indians. 

1643.  The  colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
Plymouth  and  New  Haven,  form  themselves  into 
one  confederacy,  by  the  name  of  "United  Colon- 
ies of  New  England." 

1644.  Another  Indian  massacre  in   Virginia,'  fol- 
lowed by  a  border  warfare,    which  continued 
about  two  years. 

1648.  An  individual  accused  of  witchcraft  was  exe- 
cuted at  Charlestowu,  and  for  several  years  after 
(until  1793)  numerous  others  suffered  imprison- 
ment and  death  for  the  like  alleged  crime. 

1650.  North  Carolina  settled  by  the  English. 

1656.  First  arrival  of  Quakers  in  Massachusetts, 
who  were  sent  back  to  England  in  the  vessels 
in  which  they  came,  and  the  four  united  colonies 
concurred  in  a  law  prohibiting  their  introduction  ; 
notwithstanding  all  which  they  continued  to 
arrive. 


254  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

1658.  By  advice  of  commissioners  of  the  four 
colonies,  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  de- 
nounced the  punishment  of  death  upon  all 
Quakers  returning  from  banishment. 

1660.  Sir    William   Berkely    elected  governor  by 
the  people  of  Virginia,  but  he  afterwards  dis- 
claimed the  authority  to  which  he  owed  his  ele- 
vation, and  issued  writs  for  an  assembly  in  the 
name  of  King  Charles  II. 

1661.  Edward  Whalley  and  William  Goffe,  two  of 
the  judges  who  had  condemned  Charles  I.  to 
death,  arrived  at  Boston,  and  were  kindly  re- 
ceived by  the  people.     Messengers  were  sent  to 
arrest  them,  but  they  were  concealed  and  ended 
their  days  in  New  England. 

1663.  North  Carolina  settled  by  colonists  from 
Virginia,  near  the  village  of  Edenton. 

1664.  An  English  force,  sent  to  take  possession  of 
the  whole  territory  from  the  Connecticut  River 
to  the  shores  of  the  Delaware,  captured  "New 
Amsterdam"  from  the  Dutch,  and   changed  its 
name  to  "New  York." 

1670.  South  Carolina  settled  by  the  Huguenots. 

1673.  The  Virginians  remonstrated  against  the 
unjust  taxation  on  their  commercial  business, 
but  obtained  no  redress. — The  Episcopal  Church 
became  the  religion  of  the  State/  A  war  having 
broke  out  between  England  and  Holland,  the 
Dutch  reconquered  New  York,  but  it  was  again 
surrendered  to  the  English  the  year  following. 

1675.  The  war  with  the  Wampanoags   and  other 
tribes,  commonly  called  "King    Philip's  War," 
commenced,  and  was  marked  by  much  barbarity. 

1676.  King  Phillip  was  shot  by  a  faithless  Indian 
of  his  own  tribe,  but  this  did  not  end  the  war, 
which  was  continued  till  1678,  when  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  concluded. — The  people  of  Virginia, 
led  by  Nathaniel  Bacon,  took  up  arms  in  defence 
of  their  rights. 

1677.  Massachusetts    purchased    the  province    of 
Maine  from  the  heirs  of  Gorges. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  255 

1680.  New  Hampshire  was  separated  from  Massa- 
chusetts by  a  royal  commission,  and  made  a 
royal  province  ;  but  the  first  law  adopted  by  the 
legislature,  which  soon  after  met  at  Portsmouth, 
declared  "That  no  act,  imposition,  law,  or  ordi- 
nance, should  be  made  or  imposed  upon  them 
but  such  as  should  be  made  by  the  assembly, 
and  approved  by  the  President  and  Council." 

1682.  Pennsylvania  settled  by  Wm.  Penn,  who 
founded  Philadelphia  the  year  following. 

1686.  The  charter  government  of    Massachusetts 
was  revoked,  and  the  king  appointed  a  president 
over  the  country   from   Narragansett    to  Nova 
Scotia. 

1687.  Governor  Andros  attempted  to  reclaim  the 
charter  granted    to    Connecticut,    but    it    was 
secretly  taken  from  the  assembly   chamber  at 
Hartford  by  Captain  Wadsworth  while  the  sub- 
ject was  under  discussion  and  hidden  in  a  hollow 
tree,  since  celebrated  as  the  Charter  Oak,  which 
was  an  object  of  curiosity  until  1856,  when  it  was 
blown  down. 

1689.  "King  William's  War"  with  France  began, 
and  was  continued  till  1697,  during  which  all  the 
English  colonies    suffered    by   ravages    of   the 
French  and  Indians. 

1690.  The  people  of  New   Hampshire    took'  the 
government  into  their  own  hands,   and  placed 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  Massachu- 
setts.— The  conquest  of  Canada  was  undertaken 
by  the  people  of  New  England  and  New  York 
acting  in   concert.      An  armament,   under   Sir 
William  Phipps,  made  an  unsuccessful  demon- 
stration against  Quebec,  and  then  returned  to- 
Boston.     The  first  emission  of  bills  of  credit  in 
the  colonies  was  made  by  Massachusetts  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  this  expedition. 

1701.  "  Queen  Anne's  War,"  waged  against  France 
and  Spain,  was  commenced  this  year,  and  only 
terminated  in  1713  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht. 


256  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

1733.  Georgia  settled  by  Gen.  Oglethorpe,  who 
landed  at  Savannah  with  about  120  emigrants, 
and  began  building  the  town. 

1741.  A  supposed  negro  plot  occasioned  great  ex- 
citement in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  between 
30  and  40  persons  were  executed  before  it  sub- 
sided.— The  provinces  of  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire  were  separated. 

1744.  "King  George's  War,"  which  originated 
in  European  disputes  relative  to  Austria,  again 
gave  the  French  and  Indians  many  opportunities 
of  harassing  the  colonists.  The  most  important 
event  of  the  war  in  America  was  the  siege  and 
capture  of  Louisburg,  which  was  restored  to 
France  in  1748  by  the  treaty  of  Aix-ja-Chapelle. 

1754.  "The  French  and  Indian  War,"  arising 
from  disputed  claims  to  American  territory  by 
the  English  and  French,  again  plunged  the 
colonies  in  difficulties,  and  materially  injured 
their  prosperity,  until  1763,  when  peace  was  con- 
cluded. 

I759-  Quebec  surrendered  to  the  English  forces 
under  Gen.  Wolfe,  who  was  killed  on  the  battle- 
field, and  all  the  other  French  posts  in  Canada 
were  captured  soon  after. 

1764.  A  resolution  imposing  certain  stamp  duties 
on  the  colonies  was  adopted  by  the  House  of 
Commons,  but  it  did  not  become  a  law  till  next 
year. 

1765.  A  general  indignation  spread  through  the 
colonies  when  it  was  known  that  the  ' '  Stamp 
Act"  had  passed.    At  Boston  and  Philadelphia 
the  bells  were  muffled,  and  rung  a  funeral  peal  ; 
and  at  New  York  the  Act  was  carried  through 
the  streets,  with  a  death's-head  affixed  to  it,  and 
styled  "  The  folly  of  England  and  the  ruin  of 
America."     The  stamps  themselves,   in   many 
places,  were  seized  and  destroyed,  and  the  doc- 
trine that  England  had  no  right  to  tax  America 
was    boldly    avowed. — THE    FIRST    COLONIAL 


AMERICAN   CITIZENS.  257 

CONGRESS  met  in  New  York,  nine  colonies  beHsj 
represented,  and  agreed  on  a  "Declaration  of 
Rights,"  and  other  energetic  measures. 

1766.  The  Stain p  Act  was  repealed  through  the 
exertions  of  Mr.  Pitt. 

1767.  Parliament  passed  a  bill  imposing  a  duty  on 
glass,  paper,    painters'  colors,    and  tea,  which 
occasioned  as  much  excitement  as  the  Stamp  Act, 
and  the  colonial  assemblies  adopted  spirited  reso- 
lutions for  resisting  its  operation. 

1768.  A  vessel  was  seized  by  the   custom  house 
officers  in  Boston  for  violating  some  of  the  odious 
commercial  restrictions,  but  the  people  compelled 
them  to  abandon  their  prize,  and  seek  refuge  in 
Castle  William. 

1770.  In  March,  an  affray  occurred  in  Boston  be- 
tween some  citizens  and  the  soldiers  stationed 
there  which  produced  a  great  sensation  through- 
out America. — Parliament  passed  a  bill  repealing 
all  duties  imposed  by  the  Act  of  1767,  except  that 
on  tea,  which  they  allowed  the  British  East  India 
Company  to  export  to  America,  free  from  the 
duties  which  they  had  before  paid  in  England. 

1773.  The  ports  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
were  closed  against  vessels  having  cargoes  of 
tea,  and  they  were  compelled  to  return  to  Eng- 
land. At  Boston,  a  party  of  men,  disguised  as 
Indians,  boarded  several  vessels,  and  broke  open 
342  chests  of  tea,  which  they  emptied  into  the 
harbor  in  the  presence  of  thousands  of  spectators. 

1774  Parliament  passed  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  which 
forbade  the  landing  and  shipping  goods,  wares, 
and  merchandise  at  Boston.  The  provincial  as- 
sembly resolved  that  "the  impolicy,  injustice, 
inhumanity  and  cruelty  of  the  act  exceeded  all 
their  powers  of  expression. 

1775.  An  oppressive  bill  was  passed  by  Parliament, 
restricting  the  commerce  of  all  the  provinces, 
except  New  York  and  North  Carolina.  The  in- 
habitants of  Massachusetts  were  declared  rebels, 


258  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

and  10,000  troops  were  ordered  to  America,  to 
aid  in  reducing  the  rebellious  colonies. — April 
19.  The  first  blood  in  the  cause  of  independence 
was  she4  at  Lexington,  about  ten  miles  from 
Boston,  where  a  party  of  militia  intercepted 
a  division  of  English  soldiers  on  their  way  to 
Concord  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  some  mili- 
tary stores  which  the  people  had  collected  there. 
At  Concord,  a  smart  skirmish  took  place,  and 
the  British  made  a  hasty  retreat,  after  partially 
accomplishing  their  object. — May  10.  The  Con- 
tinental Congress  assembled  at  Philadelphia, 
and,  after  electing  John  Hancock  president  of  the 
body,  among  other  important  measures,  voted  to 
raise  an  army  of  20,000  men. — June  17.  A  san- 
guinary battle  took  place  on  Breed's  Hill  (gener- 
ally now  regarded  as  Bunker  Hill)  in  which  the 
British  were  severely  cut  up,  but  they  finally 
gained  possession  of  the  hill,  the  Americans  re"- 
tiring  across  Charlestown  Neck  with  inconsider- 
able loss. — July  12.  Washington  having  been 
appointed  commander-in-chief,  arrived  at  Cam- 
bridge, and  entered  upon  his  duties. — Georgia 
joined  the  confederation  ;  after  which,  the  style 
of  the  "  Thirteen  United  Colonies  "  was  adopted. 
— An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  by  the 
Americans  for  the  conquest  of  Canada,  in  which 
Gen.  Montgomery  was  killed  during  an  assault 
on  Quebec  (Dec.  31),  and  a  portion  of  his  troops 
were  taken  prisoners. 

1776.  March  4.  Gen.  Washington  gained  possession 
of  Dorchester  Heights,  and  the  British  left  Bos- 
ton on  the  I7th.— June  18.  Canada  evacuated  by 
the  Americans.— July  4.  THE  DECLARATION  OP 
INDEPENDENCE,  by  the  Continental  Congress  at 
Philadelphia,  was  proclaimed,  and  hailed  with 
great  rejoicings.— August  27.  Battle  of  Long 
Island,  in  which  the  Americans  were  defeated, 
but  Washington  made  an  admirable  retreat  to 
New  York  on  the  2gth,  and  thence  across  Jersey 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  259 

to  Philadelphia,  where  Congress  was  in  session. 
— Dec.  12.  Congress  adjourned  to  Baltimore,  and 
soon  after  invested  Washington  with  almost  un- 
limited powers. — Dec.  26.  Washington  having 
amid  great  perils  recrossed  the  Delaware  on  the 
previous  night,  surprised  and  captured  a  large 
body  of  Hessians  at  Trenton,  and  returned  to 
Pennsylvania  with  his  prisoners. — Dec.  28.  Wash- 
ington took  post  at  Trenton. 

1777.  Jan.  3.  Finding  himself  nearly  surrounded 
by  a  force  far  superior  to  his  own,  Washington 
kindled  his  camp-fires  as  usual  to  deceive  the 
enemy,  and  then  by  a  circuitous  route  rapidly 
advanced  upon  Princeton,  where  he  gained 
another  important  victory. — In  the  spring,  the 
Marquis  de  la  Fayette  arrived  in  America  from 
France,  having  fitted  out  a  vessel  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, and  enlisted  as  a  volunteer  in  the  army 
of  Washington  declining^all  pay  for  his  services ; 
but  Congress,  which  had  returned  to  Philadel- 
phia, soon  after  appointed  him  a  Major-Gen eral. 
— May  6.  Gen.  Burgoyne,  with  a  powerful  force,, 
designed  to  invade  the  States  by  the  way  of  Lake 
Champlain  and  the  Hudson,  arrived  at  Quebec ; 
and  on  the  i6th  of  June  he  left  St.  Johns  for 
Crown  Point,  where  he  established  magazines. — • 
June  30.  The  British  army,  under  Gen.  Howe, 
passed  over  to  Staten  Island,  leaving  Washing- 
ton in  possession  of  New  Jersey.— July  5.  Gen. 
St.  Clair  abandoned  Ticonderoga,  retreating 
before  Burgoyne's  forces,  with  whom  he  had  a 
severe  skirmish  at  Hubbardton,  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  joining  Gen.  Schuyler  on  the  Hudson, 
having  lost  200  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  large 
quantity  of  stores.— July  10.  Col.  Barton,  with 
about  forty  militia,  seized  the  Commander  of  the 
English  forces  in  Rhode  Island  (Major-General 
Prescott)  while  in  bed,  and  conducted  him  safely 
through  his  own  troops  and  fleet  back  to  the- 
mainland.  This  heroic  exploit  not  only  cheered 


260  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

the  American  army,  but  secured  an  officer  of 
equal  rank  to  exchange  for  Gen.  Lee. — August 
1 6. — Battle  of  Bennington,  in  which  the  Ameri 
cans,  led  by  CoL  Stark,  obtained  an  important 
victory  over  Col.  Baum,  who  had  been  sent  by 
Gen.  Burgoyne  to  seize  some  stores  at  that  place. 
— Sept.  ii.  Battle  of  the  Brandy  wine,  in  which 
Count  Pulaski,  a  brave  Polander,  who  had  mag- 
nanimously joined  the  Americans,  distinguished 
himself,  and  was  soon  after  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  brigadier,  with  the  command  of  the  cavalry. 
Gen.  Lafayette  was  severely  wounded  while  en- 
deavoring to  rally  the  fugitives. — Sept.  13.  Bur- 
goyne crossed  the  Hudson  with  his  whole  army, 
and  took  a  position  on  the  heights  and  plains  of 
Saratoga.— Sept.  26.  The  British  army,  under 
Gen.  Howe,  entered  Philadelphia  without 
further  opposition,  Congress  having  previously 
adjourned  to  Lancaster. — Oct.  4.  Washington 
attacked  a  large  British  force  at  Germantov/n,  and 
was  repulsed,  with  the  loss  of  1200  men  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners. — Oct.  17.  Burgoyne, 
finding  himself  surrounded,  and  despairing  of 
relief,  surrendered  his  army  to  Gen.  Gates,  who 
had  recently  been  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  Northern  division,  whereby  the  Americans 
acquired  a  fine  train  of  brass  artillery,  5000 
muskets,  and  immense  quantities  of  other  mu- 
nitions of  war. — Oct.  22.  A  plan  of  confedera- 
tion was  adopted  by  Congress,  which,  however, 
amounted  to  little  more  than  a  league  of  friend- 
ship between  the  States. —Dec.  n.  Washington 
retired  into  winter-quarters  at  Valley  Forge. 
1778.  In  February,  Parliament  passed  two  bills, 
virtually  conceding  all  that  had  been  the  cause  of 
controversy,  and  sent  commissioners  to  adjust 
existing  ^  differences ;  they  attempted  to  gain 
their  objects  by  private  intrigue  and  bribery, 
which  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  Congress, 
that  body  declared  it  incompatible  with  their 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  261 

honor  to  hold  acy  intercourse  with  them. — Feb. 
6.  France  acknowledged  the  independence  of 
America,  and  concluded  a  treaty  of  alliance  and 
commerce. — June  18.  The  British  army  evacuated 
Philadelphia,  and  retreated  to  New  York,  fol- 
lowed cautiously  by  Washington  with  the  main 
body  of  his  army. — June  28.  Battle  of  Mon- 
mouth,  in  which  the  British  were  signally  de- 
feated with  great  loss,  and  retreated  to  Sandy 
Hook,  whence  they  were  taken  to  New  York  by 
their  fleet. — July  3.  Wyoming  was  attacked  by 
a  large  body  of  British,  tories,  and  Indians,  who, 
after  the  place  had  been  surrendered,  perpe- 
trated the  most  inhuman  atrocities  :  men,  women 
and  children  were  shut  up  in  the  houses  and 
barracks,  and  consumed  in  one  general  confla- 
gration.— Dec.  29.  An  English  army  of  2000 
men  landed  near  Savannah,  then  defended  by 
only  600  troops,  and,  after  a  severe  battle,  took 
possession  of  the  city,  the  Americans  retreating. 
1779.  May  ii.  Gen.  Provost,  with  a  large  British 
force,  having  invested  Charleston,  summoned 
the  city  to  surrender  ;  but  the  approach  of  Gen. 
Lincoln,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Southern  army,  compelled  him  to 
retreat— July  5.  Gen.  Try  on  made  another 
descent  on  Connecticut,  and  plundered  and 
burned  the  towns  of  New  Haven,  East  Haven, 
Fan-field,  and  Norwalk. — July  16.  Stony  Point, 
which  had  been  previously  taken  by  the  enemy, 
was  gallantly  recaptured  by  Gen.  Wayne,  the 
British  losing  upward  of  600  men  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners. — September  23.  One  of 
the  most  bloody  battles  on  record  was  fought  on 
the  coast  of  Scotland  between  the  American 
frigate  Bon  Honime  Richard,  Captain  Paul  Jones, 
and  two  British  frigates,  the  Serapis  and  the 
Countess  of  Scarborough,  which  resulted  in  a 
victory  for  the  Richard,  which  was  so  cut  up 
that  she  soon  after  sank.  Of  a  crew  of  375,  300 


262  HAND  BOOK  I  OR 

were  either  killed  or  wounded. — October  9.  After 
a  month's  siege,  acombined  attack  of  the  French 
and  Americans,  under  Count  D'Estaing  and  Gen. 
Lincoln,  was  made  on  Savannah,  but  it  proved 
unsuccessful,  and  Gen.  Lincoln  retired  into 
South  Carolina,  while  Count  D'Estaing  with- 
drew his  fleet  from  the  American  coast.  Count 
Pulaski  was  mortally  wounded  during  the  battle, 
and  a  monument  has  since  been  erected  to  his 
memory  on  the  spot  where  he  fell. 
1780.  During  the  most  of  this  year  military  opera- 
tions were  confined  to  the  Carolinas. — April  9. 
Admiral  Arbuthnot,  with  a  powerful  fleet,  which 
had  transported  Sir  Henry  Clinton  with  the 
bulk  of  his  forces  from  New  York  to  the  South, 
anchored  in  Charleston  harbor,  and  summoned 
the  city  to  surrender.  This  was  rejected,  and 
General  Lincoln  and  his  troops  made  a  gallant 
defence,  until  May  12,  when,  most  of  the  forti 
fications  having  been  beaten  down,  and  the 
enemy  being  about  to  make  an  assault,  a  compli- 
ance was  unavoidable,  and  the  royal  government 
was  again  established  in  South  Carolina. — May 
12.  Charleston  surrendered  after  more  than  a 
month's  siege. — July  10.  A  French  squadron, 
under  Admiral  de  Ternay,  arrived  at  Newport, 
having  on  board  6000  men,  commanded  by 
Count  de  Rochambeau. — August  16.  Gen.  Gates, 
who  was  advancing  with  a  considerable  force  for 
the  relief  of  the  South,  encountered  the  British, 
under  Lords  Rawdon  and  Cornwallis,  near 
Camden,  S.  C.,  and  after  a  desperate  engage- 
ment, was  compelled  to  draw  off",  with  the  loss 
of  looo  men,  and  all  his  artillery,  ammunition 
wagons,  and  most  of  his  baggage.  Baron  de 
Kalb,  second  in  command,  was  mortally 
wounded,  dying  on  the  igth. — September  23. 
Major  Andre,  adjutant-general  of  the  British 
army,  was  arrested  near  Tarrytown,  N.  Y.,  by 
militiamen  John  Paulding,  DavM  Williams  and 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  263 

Isaac  Van  Wert.  He  was  returning  from  a  visit 
to  Gen.  Arnold,  then  in  command  of  West 
Point,  with  whom  he  had  successfully  negotiated 
for  the  surrender  of  that  post.  He  was  soon 
after  tried,  convicted,  and  executed  as  a  spy, 
while  the  traitor  Arnold  tmfortunately  escaped. 
Being  allowed  to  write  to  Arnold,  that  officer 
of  course  found  that  his  treason  was  discovered, 
and  precipitately  fled  on  board  the  sloop-of-war 
Vulture,  then  lying  in  the  Hudson. 
1781.  The  traitor  Arnold,  as  one  of  the  rewards  of 
his  crime,  was  made  a  brigadier  in  the  British 
service,  and  early  in  January  he  made  a  descent 
upon  Virginia,  ravaging  the  coasts,  and  plunder- 
ing and  destroying  public  and  private  property 
to  a  vast  amount. — January  17.  The  English 
cavalry,  under  Col.  Tarleton,  were  severely 
beaten  at  the  Battle  of  Cowpens  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, under  Gen.  Morgan,  and  lost  300  in  killed, 
and  wounded,  500  prisoners,  loo  horses,  and  a 
large  quantity  of  baggage.  Morgan's  loss  was 
12  men  killed  and  60  wounded. — January  31. 
Gen.  Greene,  who  had  been  appointed  to  super- 
sede Gen.  Gates  in  the  South,  arrived  at  Cheraw, 
and  took  command  of  Morgan's  division. — 
March  15.  Gen.  Greene  encountered  the  army 
of  Lord  Cornwallis  at  Guilford  Court  House; 
but  neither  party  gained  a  decided  advantage, 
and  Greene  withdrew  into  South  Carolina,  en- 
camping on  Hobkirk's  Hill,  about  a  mile  from 
Camden,  where  Lord  Rawdon  was  then  posted. 
— April  25.  Lord  Rawdon  made  an  attack  on 
Hobkirk's  Hill,  but  with  so  little  success  that  he 
soon  after  evacuated  Camden,  and  retired  be- 
yond the  Santee  River. — October  8.  The  Amer- 
icans and  British,  under  Gen.  Greene  and  Col. 
Stewart,  met  at  Eutaw  Springs,  and  a  sanguinary 
conflict,  of  nearly  four  hours,  ensued ;  when 
Greene  drew  off  his  troops,  and  Stewart  retired 
to  Monk's  Corner. — September  6.  The  traitor 


264  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Arnold  villainously  burned  New  London,  and 
destroyed  much  private  and  public  property  indis- 
criminately.—  September  30.  The  combined 
American  'and  French  army,  under  Washington 
and  Rochatnbeau  suddenly  appeared  before 
York  town,  where  Cornwallis  had  concentrated 
his  forces,  and  immediately  commenced  the  con- 
struction of  batteries  and  other  works  for  the 
effectual  siege  of  that  place.  A  French  fleet 
commanded  by  Count  de  Grasse,  had  previously 
entered  the  Chesapeake,  and,  by  blocking  up 
James  and  York  rivers,  prevented  the  enemy's 
escape  by  sea. — October  19.  Finding  retreat  im- 
possible, and  resistance  vain,  Cornwallis  surren- 
dered the  post,  and  thus  7000  troops  and  the 
shipping  in  the  harbor  were  secured  to  the  victors, 
and  the  revolutionary  struggle  virtually  ended. — 
December  12.  A  resolution  passed  the  British 
House  of  Commons  that  those  who  should  advise 
the  king  to  continue  the  war  in  America,  should 
be  declared  enemies  of  the  sovereign  and  of  the 
country. 

1782.  The  independence  of  America  was  acknowl- 
edged by  Holland,  Sweden,  Denmark,    Spain, 
and  Rust ia. — Early  in  May,  Sir  Guy  Carleton. 
successor  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  as  commander  of 
all  the  forces  in  America,  arrived  in  New  York, 
with  instructions  to  promote  an  accommodation 
with  the  United  States,  and  of  course  there  were 
no  subsequent  military  operations  of  importance. 
— November  30.    Preliminary  articles  of  peace 
were  signed  at  Paris  by  Mr.  Oswald,  commis- 
sioner on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  and  by  John 
Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Jay  and  Henry 
Laurens,  on  the  part  qf  the  United  States. 

1783.  April  19.  On  the  eighth  anniversary  of  the 
battle  of  Lexington,    a  cessation   of   hostilities 
was  proclaimed  in  the  American  army. — Sep- 
tember 3   Definitive  treaties  of  peace  were  signed 
by  the  commissioners  of  England  with  those  of 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  265 

the  United  States,  France,  Spain,  and  Holland. 
— November  25.  New  York  was  evacuated  by 
the  British  troops. — December  4.  Washington 
took  leave  of  the  army,  and  the  soldiers  of  the 
Revolution  returned  peaceably  to  their  homes. 
— December  23.  Washington  resigned  his  com- 
mission into  the  hands  of  Congress,  then  sitting 
«t  Annapolis,  Md.,  and  retired  to  private  life. 


EVENTS  SUBSEQUENT  TO  INDEPENDENCE. 

Nov.  i.  Congress  convened  at  Trenton, 
N.  J.,  but  transacted  little  business  of  permanent 
importance. 

1785.  June  2.  John  Adams,  first  Minister  from  the 
United  States  to  Great  Britain,   had    his  first 
audience  with  the  king. 

1786.  Shay's  Rebellion  in  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire. 

1787.  Sept.    17.   The  Constitution  of  the    United 
States  was    adopted    at  Philadelphia. — Daniel 
Shay  and  his  party  dispersed  by  Gen.  L/incoln. 

1788.  Eleven   States  ratified  the    Constitution.— 
Election  for  President  of  the  United  States. 

1789.  March  4.  Congress  assembled  at  New  York, 
but  did  not    organize  till   April    6. — April  30. 
George  Washington  was  sworn  into  office  as  the 
first  President,  and  John  Adams  as  the  first  Vice- 
President  of  United  States. 

1790.  In  May,  Rhode  Island  acceded  to  the  Con- 
stitution.— Sept.  30.  Gen.   Harmer  defeated  by 
the  Indians  near  Chillicothe. — The  first  census 
completed,  showing — population,  3,921,326 ;  reve- 
nue $4,771,000;  exports,   $19,000,000;   imports, 

$20,000,000. 

1791.  Vermont,   having  acceded  to  the   Constitu- 
tion,  was  admitted  into  the  Union. — The  first 
United  States  Bank  was  chartered  by  Congress, 
but  not  without  powerful  opposition. 


t€6  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

1792.  The  Mint  was  established. — Kentucky    ad- 
mitted into  the  Union. 

1793.  April   22.  President    Washington    issued    a 
proclamation   of   neutrality    in   regard    to  the 
affairs  of  France,  which  were  beginning  to  affect 
American     politics. — Washington    and    Adams 
were  re-elected. 

1794.  Aug.  20.  Gen.  Wayne  obtained  so  decisive  a 
victory  over  the  hostile  Indians  as  to  produce  a 
salutarv  effect  upon  all  the  tribes  northwest  of 
the  Ohio. 

1795.  Treaties  were    concluded    with    Spain  and 
Algiers. 

1796.  Sept.  17.  Washington  signified  his  intention 
to   retire  from  public  life,  and  published    his 
Farewell  Address. — Tennessee  was  admitted  into 
the  Union. 

1797.  March  4.  John  Adams  was   inaugurated   as 
President,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  Vice-PesidenL 

1798.  Congress  again    elected    Gen.    Washington 
commander  in-chief  of  the  army. 

1799.  Dec.    14.  Gen.    Washington  died  at  Mount 
Vernon,  after  a  very  short  illness. 

1800.  The  seat  of  government  was  transferred  to 
Washington  City. — Sept.  30.  A  treaty  was  con- 
cluded with  the   French   Directory. — President 
Adams  signed  the  alien  and  sedition  laws. 

i8;>i.  Thomas  Jefferson  was  elected  President,  and 
Aaron  Burr,  Vice- President. — Congress  declared 
was  against  Tripoli. — The  second  census  was 
completed,  and  showed — population,  5,319,762; 
revenue,  $12,945,000  ;  exports,  194,000,000. 

1802.  New  Orleans  was  ceded  by  Spain  to  France, 
and  the  Mississippi  closed  against  the  United 
States. — Ohio  admitted  into  the  Union. 

1803.  Louisiana  was  purchased  of  the  French  by 
the  United  States  for  $15,000,000. — Com.  Preble 
sailed  with  a  squadron  for  Tripoli ;  the  frigate 
Philadelphia  got  around   in  the  harbor,  and  was 
captured  by  the  barbarians. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  267 

1804.  Capt.   Eaton  was  appointed  navy  agent  for 
the  Barbary  powers. — L,ieut.   (afterward    Com.) 
Decatur  recaptured  and  destroyed  the  frigate 
Philadelphia,    under  a    terrific    fire    from    the 
enemy's  guns. 

1805.  Thomas  Jefferson  was  re-elected  President, 
and  George  Clinton  Vice-President. — Peace  was 
concluded  with  Tripoli,  and  200  prisoners  were 
given  up  to  the  United  States. 

1806.  England  began  to  impress  American  seamen, 
on  the  plea  of  their  having  been  born  in  that 
kingdom. — Nov.    21.  Berlin    decree    issued    by 
Bonaparte,  crippling  American  commerce. 

1807.  Aaron  Burr,   formerly  Vice-President,    was 
tried  at  Richmond  for  high  treason,  but  was 
acquitted,  owing  to  the  insufficiency  of  evidence. 

1808.  June  22.  The  American  frigate  Chesapeake 
was  fired  into  by  the  British  ship-of-war  Leopard, 
for  refusing  to  deliver  up  four  men  who  were 
claimed  as  English  subjects ;  three  men  were 
killed  and  eighteen   wounded. — In  November, 
the  British  government  issued    the   celebrated 
"  Orders  in  Council,"  prohibiting  all  trade  with 
France  and  her  allies ;  and  in  December,  Bona- 

Earte  issued  the  retaliatory  "  Milan  decree,"  for- 
idding  all  trade  with  England  and  her  colonies. 
— Dec.  22.    Congress  decreed  an  embargo,   the 
design  of  which  was  to  retaliate  on  France  and 
England  for  unjust  commercial  prohibitions. 

1809.  March  I.  Congress  repealed  the  embargo  act, 
but  at  the  same  time  interdicted  all  commercial 
intercourse  with  France  or  England. 

1810.  In  November,  all  the  hostile  decrees  of  the 
French  were  revoked,  and    commercial   inter- 
course with  the  United  States  was  resumed  ;  but 
those  of  England  were  not  only  continued,  but 
ships  of  war  were  stationed   near  the  principal 
American  ports  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting 
our  merchantmen,  which  were  captured,  and  sent 
to  British  ports  as  legal  prizes. 


268  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

1811.  May  16.  The  British  ship-of-war  Little  Belt, 
Capt.  Bingham,  was  hailed  in  the  evening  on  the 
coast  of  Virginia  by  the  U.  S    frigate  President, 
Capt.  Rodgers,  but  instead  of  receiving  a  satis- 
factory answer,  a  shot  was  fired  in  return,  when 
a  brief  engagement  followed,  in  which  eleven  of 
the  enemy  were  killed  and  twenty-one  wounded. 
The  President  had  only  one  man  wounded. 

1812.  June  17.  President  Madison   issued  a  proc- 
lamation of  war  against  England,  and  exertions 
were  immediately  made  to  enlist  25,000  men,  to 
raise  50,000  volunteers,  and  to  call  out  100,000 
militia. 

1814.  In  August,  Washington  City  surrendered  to  a 
British  army,  who  destroyed  the  capitol,  Presi- 
dent's mansion,  and  many  other  valuable  build- 
ings, etc. — Dec.  24.  Treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain  concluded  at  Ghent. 

1815.  Jan.  8.  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  in  which  the 
British,  under  Sir  E.  Packenham  were  signally 
repulsed  by  the  Americans,  under  Gen.  Jackson. 

1816.  In  April,  Congress  chartered  the  U.  S.  Bank, 
with  a  capital  of  $35,000,000 — Indiana  admitted 
into  the  Union. — American  Colonization  Society 
formed. 

1817.  March  4.    James  Monroe    and    Daniel    D. 
Tompkins  were  inaugurated  as    President  and 
Vice- President. — Mississippi  admitted   into  the 
Union. 

1818.  SEMINOLK  WAR,    in  which   Gen.    Jackson 
obtained  many  important  victories,  and  finally 
"conquered  peace. " — July  4.  Ground  first  broken 
in  New  York  for  the  Hudson  and  Erie  Canal. — 

*   Illinois  and  Alabama  admitted  into  the  Union. 

1819.  Feb.  23.  The  Floridas  ceded  by  Spain  to  the 
United  States  for  $5,000,000,  which  sum  was  to 
be  paid  to  American  citizens  as  indemnities  for 
spoliations  on  their  commerce  during  the  Penin- 
sular war. 

1820.  Maine  and  Missouri  were  admitted  into  the 
Union. — The  Compromise   Act  passed,  by  which 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  269 

slavery  was  excluded   from   all  territory  lying 
north  of  36°  3C/  N.  latitude. 

1821.  James  Monroe  and  Daniel  D.  Tompkius  were 
re-elected  President  and  Vice-President. 

1822.  Ministers  plenipotentiary  sent    to  Mexico, 
Buenos    Ayres,  Colombia,  and  Chili. — Conven- 
tion of  Navigation  and  Commerce  between  the 
United  States  and  France. — Piracy  was  alarm- 
ingly prevalent  in  the  West  Indies. 

1824.  Aug.  15.  Gen.  I^afayette  arrived  in  New  York 
from   France,  and  spent  the  year  in  traveling 
through  the  country,   being  received  at  every 
place  with  great  enthusiasm. 

1825.  March  4.  John  Quincy  Adams  and  John  C. 
Calhoun  inaugurated  as  President    and    Vice- 
President. — Sept.   7.  Gen.   Lafayette  embarked 
for  France  in  the  frigate  Brandy  wine,  which  had 
been  fitted  out  expressly  for  his   accomodation. 

1828.  July    4.    Semi-Centennial    Anniversary    of 
American    Independence. —Remarkable    coinci- 
dence in  the  death  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefferson,  each  on  whom  died  that  day. 

1829.  March  4.  Andrew  Jackson  and  John  C.  Cal- 
houn inaugurated  as  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent—the  latter  re-elected. 

1832.  The  Sacs,    Foxes,  Winnebagoes,    and  some 
other  Indian  tribes,  under  the  Chief  Black  Hawk, 
made  war  on  the  Northwestern  frontier,  but  were 
soon  brought  to  submission. — A    convention  in 
South  Carolina  threatened  to  dissolve  the  Union, 
but  the  President  issued  a  proclamation  (Dec.  12) 
which  allayed  all  apprehension  of  trouble. 

1833.  March  4.   Andrew  Jackson  and  Martin  Van 
Buren  were  inaugurated  as  President  and  Vice- 
President — the   former    re-elected. — The    public 
funds  were  removed  from  the  U.  S.  Bank,  which 
occasioned  much  excitement. 

1835.  The  Florida  War  was  commenced  by  Indian 
hostilities  against  the  settlements. — Dec.  24. 
Major  Dade  and  upward  of  100  men  were  unex- 
pectedly attacked,  and  all  savagely  butchered, 


270  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

except  four,  who  were  so  horribly  mangled  that 
the}'  died  soon  afterward.  On  the  same  day, 
while  Gen.  Thompson  and  eight  friends  were 
dining  together  near  Fort  King,  they  were  fired 
upon  by  a  party  of  warriors  under  Osceola,  and 
five  out  of  the  nine  were  killed  and  scalped. 
Gen.  Thompson's  body  was  pierced  by  fifteen 
bullets. 

1836.  The  Florida  war  was  vigorously  prosecuted 
by  Generals  Gaines,  Clinch,  Jesup,  and  Call,  and 
several  desperate  battles  were  fought,  but  without 
any  material  advantage  to  the  whites. — Arkansas 
was  admitted  into  the  Union. 

1837.  March4.  Great  commercial  distress  prevailed, 
and  nearly  all  the  banks  in  the  country  suspended 
specie  payments. — An  extra  session  of  Congress 
was  held  in  September,  but  nothing  was  done, 
except  authorizing   the    government    to    issue 
$10,000,000  in  Treasury  notes. — Oct.  21.   The  In- 
dian chief  Osceola  was  captured,   and  died  the 
following  January. — Michigan  was  admitted  into 
the  Union. 

1840.  General  Macomb,  who  took  command  of  the 
army  in   Florida  (numbering   about  9000),  con- 
cluded a  treaty  of  peace  with  several  Indian 
chiefs. — The  Independent  Treasury  Bill  became 
a  law. 

1841.  March  4.    William  H.   Harrison  and  John 
Tyler  were  inaugurated  as  President  and  Vice- 
President. — April  4.  President  Harrison  died,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Tyler. — May  31.  An  extra 
session  of  Congress  convened,  but  they  did  little, 
except  to  pass  the  Bankrupt  Bill. 

1842.  A  treaty  adjusting  the  northeastern  boundary 
of   the    United     States    concluded    with    Great 
Britain. 

1845.  March  4.  James  K.  Polk  and  George  M. 
Dallas  were  inaugurated  as  President  and  Vice- 
President. — Texas  was  annexed  to  the  United 
States,  and  this  led  to  a  war  with  Mexico,  which 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  271 

resulted  in  a  series  of  brilliant  victories,  and 
in  the  extension  of  American  territory  on  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Florida  was  admitted  into  the 
Union. 

1846.  Iowa  was  admitted  into  the  Union. 

1847.  Wisconsin  was  admitted  into  the  Union. 

1849.  March  4.  Zachary  Taylor  and  Millard  Fill- 
more  were  inaugurated  as  President  and  Vice- 
President. 

1850.  July  9.    President  Taylor  died,  after  a  very 
brief  illness,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Fillmore. 
— Sept.  1 8.  Fugitive  Slave  Law  approved. — Cali- 
fornia admitted  into  the  Union. 

1853.  Franklin  Pierce  and  William  R.  King,  having 
been  elected  President  and  Vice-President,  the 
former  was   duly  inaugurated,   but  the    latter, 
being  absent  in  Cuba,  whither  he  had  gone  for 
the  benefit  of  his  health,  was  not  sworn  into  of- 
fice until  some  time  in  April.     He  did  not  live 
long  after  reaching  home,  and  Jesse  D.  Bright, 
President  of  the  Senate,  assumed  his  office  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  term. 

1854.  Congress  passed  an  act  to  organize  the  Ter- 
ritories of  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  and  also  to  re- 
peal the  Missouri  Compromise  Act. 

1857.  James  Buchanan  and  John  C.  Breckinridge 
inaugurated  as  President  and  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States. — A  year  of  severe  embarrass- 
ments   and    financial    distress    throughout  the 
country.      Nearly  all  the  banks  in  the  United 
States  suspended  specie  payments,  as  in   1837, 
and  many  heavy  failures  occured. — Minnesota 
admitted  into  the  Union. 

1858.  Specie   payments    resumed. — Atlantic  tele- 
graph laid. — Crystal  Palace  burned. 

1859.  Oregon  admitted  into  the  Union. 

1860.  May.     Visit  of  the  Ambassadors  of  the  Jap- 
anese Government  to  the  U.  S. 

June.     Arrival  of  the  steamship  Great  Eastern  at 
New  York. 


B72  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Nov.  8.  The  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and 
Hannibal  Hamlin  as  President  and  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  announced  at  Wash- 
ington.— 9-11.  James  Chesnut,  Jr.,  and  James  H. 
Hammond,  U.  S.  Senators  from  South  Carolina, 
resigned  their  seats  in  the  Senate. 

Dec.  3.  The  second  session  of  the  36th  Congress 
opened  at  Washington. — 10.  U.  S.  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives appointed  a  Committee  of  33  on  the 
state  of  the  Union. — Howell  Cobb,  of  Georgia, 
Secretary  U.  S.  Treasury,  resigned  his  office. 
John  A.  Dix,  of  New  York,  appointed  his  sucess- 
or. — 14.  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  Secretary  of 
State,  resigned.— 20.  The  South  Carolina  "Ordi- 
nance of  Secession"  passed. — 24.  Resignation 
of  the  South  Carolina  Representatives  in  Con- 
gress.— 26.  Major  Anderson  removed  his  com- 
mand from  Fort  Moultrie  to  Fort  Sumter. — 
Messrs.  Barnwell,  Orr  and  Adams,  Commission.- 
ers  appointed  by  South  Carolina  to  treat  with 
the  Federal  Government,  arrived  at  Washing- 
ton.—27.  Captain  N.  L.  Coste,  U.  S.  R.  service, 
in  command  of  the  cutter  William  Aiken,  be- 
trayed his  vessel  into  the  hands  of  the  State 
authorities  of  South  Carolina. — 28.  The  palmetto 
flag  raised  over  the  custom-house  and  post  office 
in  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  Castle  Pinckr,ey  and 
Fort  Moultrie  occupied  by  the  South  Carolina 
military. — 29.  John  B.  Floyd  resigned  his  position 
as  Secretary  of  War. — 30.  South  Carolina  troops 
take  possession  of  the  U.  S.  Arsenal  at  Charles- 
ton, containing  many  thousand  stand  of  arms 
and  valuable  military  stores. 

1861.  Jan  3.  Fort  Pulaski,  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  taken 
possession  of  by  Georgia  troops. — South  Carolina 
Commissioners  left  \Vashington  for  Charleston, 
the  President  declining  to  receive  any  official 
communication  from  them. — 4.  United  States 
Arsenal  at  Mobile  seized  by  secessionists.  No 
defence. — Fort  Morgan,  at  the  entrance  of 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  273 

Mobile  Bay,  taken  by  Alabama  troops. — 8.  Jacob 
Thompson  resigned  his  place  in  the  Cabinet  as 
Secretary  of  the  Interior.— United  States  sub- 
Treasury  at  Charleston  seized. — 9.  Mississippi 
Ordinance  of  Secession  passed.— Steamship  Star 
of  the  West,  with  supplies  for  Fort  Sumter,  fired 
into  from  Morris  Island  and  Fort  Moultrie,  and 
driven  from  Charleston  harbor. — u.  Louisiana 
State  troops,  under  Captain  Bradford,  took  pos- 
session of  the  U.  S.  Marine  hospital,  two  miles 
below  New  Orleans. — Florida  Convention  adopt- 
ed an  Ordinance  of  Secession  by  a  vote  of  62  to 
7. — Alabama  Convention  adopted  an  Ordinance 
of  Secession  by  a  vote  of  61  to  39. — 12.  Fort  Bar- 
rancas and  the  Navy  Yard  at  Peusacola,  Fla., 
seized  by  Southern  troops.— 15.  Col.  Hayne,  Com- 
missioner from  South  Carolina  to  Washington, 
demanded  the  withdrawal  pf  the  garrison  of 
Fort  Sumter. — U.  S.  coast  survey  schooner  Dana 
seized  by  Florida  State  authorities. — 19.  Conven- 
tion of  Georgia  adopted  a  secession  ordinance  by 
a  vote  of  208  to  89. — 21.  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mis- 
sissippi, withdrew  from  U.  S.  Senate.— 24.  U.  S. 
arsenal  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  surrendered  to  the  State 
authorities. — 26.  Louisiana  State  Convention 
passed  an  Ordinance  of  Secession  by  a  vote  of 
113  to  17. — 29.  U.  S.  revenue  cutter  Robert  Mc- 
Clelland, Captain  Breshwood,  surrendered  to 
State  of  Louisiana. — Secretary  Dix's  dispatch  to 
Hemphill  Jones  at  New  Orleans,  "If  any  one 
attempts  to  haul  down  the  American  flag  shoot 
him  on  the  spot."  31.  South  Carolina  authori- 
ties offer  to  buy  Fort  Sumter. — U.  S.  branch 
mint  and  custom-house  at  New  Orleans  seized  by 
State  authorities. 

Feb.  i.  Texas  Convention  at  Galveston  passed  an 
Ordinance  of  Secession,  to  be  voted  on  by  the 
people  on  the  23d  of  February,  and  to  take  effect 
March  2. — 8.  Congress  at  Montgomery  adopted 
a  constitution  for  a  provisional  government, 


*74  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Jefferson  Davis,  President ;  Alexander  H.  Ste- 
phens, Vice-P resident. — U.  S.  arsenal  at  Little 
Rock,  Ark.,  with  9000  stand  of  arms  and  forty 
cannon,  etc.,  surrendered  to  State  authorities. — 
13.  The  election  of  Lincoln  and  Hamlin,  as 
President  and  Vice- President  of  the  United  States, 
formally  declared  in  the  Senate  by  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  Vice  President. — 18.  Jefferson 
Davis  inaugurated  President  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy.— 23.  U.  S.  property  to  a  great 
amount,  together  with  various  army  posts  in 
Texas,  surrendered  to  the  Confederates  by  Gen- 
eral Twiggs.  Property  valued  at  $1,500,000,  be- 
sides buildings. — 27.  Peace  Convention  at  Wash- 
ington submitted  to  the  Senate  a  plan  of  adjust- 
ment of  the  national  difficulties,  involving  seven 
amendments  to  the  Constitution. 

March  I.  General  Twiggs  expelled  from  the  army 
of  the  United  States. — 4.  Abraham  Lincoln  inaug- 
urated sixteenth  President  of  the  United  States,  at 
Washington.  A  State  Convention  declared  Texas 
out  of  the  Union. — 5.  Gen.  P.  T.  Beauregard  took 
command  of  the  forces  investing  Fort  Sumter, 
S.  C. — 30.  Mississippi  State  Convention  ratified 
the  constitution  of  the  C.  S.,  by  a  vote  of  78  to  7. 

April  3.  South  Carolina  Convention  ratified  the 
constitution  ot  the  C.  S.,  by  a  vote  of  114  to  16. 
— 12.  Attack  on  Fort  Sumter.  Reinforcement  of 
Fort  Pickeiis. — 14.  Evacuation  of  Fort  Sumter. 
President's  proclamation,  calling  for  75,000 
volunteers  to  suppress  insurrection,  and  also 
calling  an  extra  session  of  U.  S.  Congress  on 
July  4. — 1 6.  The  government  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy  call  for  32,000  men. — New  York 
Legislature  appropriated  $3, ooo, coo  for  war  pur- 
poses.— 17.  State  Convention  of  Virginia,  in  secret 
session,  passed  an  Ordinance  of  Secession.— Sixth 
Massachusetts  regiment,  on  its  way  to  Washing- 
ton, attacked  by  a  mob  in  Baltimore. — U.  S. 
arsenal  at  Liberty,  Mo.,  seized.— Steamship  Star 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  275 

of  the  West,  having  been  seized  by  secessionists, 
was  taken  into  New  Orleans. — The  ports  of  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana  and  Texas  ordered  to  be  blockaded  by 
the  President— 2 1.  Gosport  Navy  Yard,  opposite 
Norfolk,  Va.,  set  on  fire,  and  vessels  scuttledand 
sunk,  by  U.  S.  officers  in  charge. — Philadelphia 
&  Baltimore  Railway  taken  possession  of  by  U.  S. 
Government. — 25.  Gov.  Letcher,  of  Virginia,  by 
proclamation,  transferred  that  commonwealth  to 
the  Southern  Confederacy. — 26.  Gov.  Brown,  of 
Georgia,  by  proclamation,  prohibited  the  pay- 
ment of  all  debts  to  Northern  creditors  till  the 
end  of  hostilities. — 27.  The  ports  of  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  were  included  in  the  blockade  by 
the  President. — 29.  Secession  defeated  in  Mary- 
land House  of  Delegates  by  a  vote  of  53  to  13. 
May  3.  Gov.  Jackson,  of  Missouri,  in  a  message  to 
the  legislature,  recommended  arming  the  State, 
and  a  union  of  sympathy  and  destiny  with  the 
slaveholding  States. — President  Lincoln  issued  a 
proclamation  calling  into  service  42,000  volun- 
teers for  three  years,  and  directing  the  increase 
of  the  regular  army  and  navy  of  the  United 
States. — Virginia  admitted  into  the  Southern 
Confederacy  in  secret  session  of  Confederate 
Congress. — Police  Commissioners  of  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  demanded  of  Capt.  Lyon  the  removal  of 
U.  S.  troops  from  all  places  and  buildings  occu- 
pied by  them  in  that  city  outside  the  arsenal 
grounds. — Confederate  States'  Congress  recog- 
nized war  with  the  United  States,  and  authorized 
issue  of  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal. — Legisla- 
ture of  Arkansas  passed  an  unconditional  Ordi- 
nance of  Secession,  69  to  !.• — 7.  League  between 
Tennessee  authorities  and  Confederate  States. 
— 9.  The  Confederate  Congress  authorized  Presi- 
dent Davis  to  raise  such  force  for  the  war  as  he 
should  deem  expedient. — 10.  Maj.-Gen.  R.  E. 
Lee  appointed  to  command  the  Confederate 


276  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

forces  in  Virginia. — Maj-Gen.  McClellan  ap- 
pointed to  command  the  Department  of  Ohio. — 
The  President  directed  that  all  officers  in  the 
army  should  take  anew  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  United  States. — The  secession  military, 
under  Gen.  Frost,  at  St.  Louis,  Mo. ,  surrendered 
to  Capt.  1/yon,  commanding  U.  S.  forces.  A 
mob  assailed  the  U.  S.  military  after  the  surren- 
der, and  were. fired  on  by  them,  and  many  killed 
and  wounded. — 15.  A  proclamation  of  neutrality 
with  respect  to  the  civil  war  in  the  U.  S.  was 
issued  by  Queen  Victoria,  in  which  the  subjects 
of  Great  Britain  were  forbidden  to  take  part  in 
the  contest,  or  endeavor  to  break  a  blockade 
"lawfully  and  effectually  established." — 18.  Ar- 
kansas admitted  to  the  Southern  Confederacy. — 
20.  Seizure  by  the  Government  of  principal 
telegraph  offices  throughout  the  free  States,  and 
of  the  accumulated  dispatches  for  twelve  months. 
— Ordinance  of  Secession  passed  by  North 
Carolina  State  Convention. — 24.  Assassination 
of  Col.  Ellsworth,  at  Alexandria,  Va. 
June  i.  British  Government  prohibited  U.  S.  and 
Confederate  armed  vessels  from  bringing  any 
prizes  to  British  ports. — 3.  Hon.  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  died  at  Chicago. — 4.  Chief  Justice 
Taney  protests  against  the  suspension  of  the 
habeas  corpus  by  the  President. — 6.  Gov.  Pickens, 
of  S.  C.,  forbade  the  remittance  of  funds  to 
Northern  creditors.  Vote  of  Tennessee  in  favor 
of  secession. — 12.  Gov.  Jackson,  of  Missouri, 
issued  a  proclamation  calling 50,000  State  militia 
into  service,  to  protect  the  "lives,  liberty  and 
property  of  the  "citizens  of  the  State." — West 
Virginia  State  Convention  resolved  to  elect  loyal 
State  officers. — Maryland  election  resulted  in  the 
triumph  of  all  the  Union  candidates  but  Winter 
Davis. — 17.  Western  Virginia  Convention  unani- 
mously declared  their  independence  of  the 
Eastern  section  of  the  State. — 24.  Secession  of 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  277 

Tennessee  proclaimed  by  Gov.  Harris.  Vote  104,- 
913  for,  to  47,238  against. — 25.  Virginia  vote  an 
nouncedto  be  128,884  for,   and  32,134  against 
secession. — Western  Virginia  government  recog- 
nized by  the  President. 

July  10.  Loan  bill  passed  by  House  of  Representa- 
tives, authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to- 
borrow  $250, 000,000,  redeemable  in  twenty  years. 
— Bill  authorizing  $500,000,000  and  500,000  volun- 
teers to  suppress  the  rebellion,  passed  the  Senate, 
— House  of  Representatives  empowered  the  Pres- 
ident to  close  the  ports  of  seceded  States. — 
1 6.  Bill  authorizing  the  President  to  call  out 
militia  to  suppress  the  rebellion,  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  the  bill  to  accept 
services  of  500,000  volunteers. — 19.  The  Captain- 
General  of  Cuba  liberated  all  the  vessels  brought 
into  Cuban  ports  by  privateer  Sumter  as  prizes. — 
20.  Confederate  Congress  met  at  Richmond, 
Va.— 21.  Battle  of  Bull  Run.  Union  defeat. — 
22.  Brig.-Gen.  Beauregard  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  "General"  in  the  Confederate  army,  the 
highest  grade. — 22.  Maj.-Gen.  McClellan  as- 
signed to  command  the  Department  of  the 
Potomac. — 30-31.  Missouri  State  Convention 
abolished  the  State  Legislature,  declared  the 
offices  of  Governor,  Lieu. -Gov.  and  Sec.  of  State 
vacant,  appointed  special  State  officers,  and 
provided  for  a  special  election  by  the  people  in 
Aug.,  1862. 

1861.  August  I.  Lieut. -Col.  Baylor,  commanding 
the  Confederate  forces  in  Arizona,  issued  a 
proclamation  taking  possession  of  New  Mexico, 
in  the  name  of  the  Confederate  States,  declaring 
all  Federal  offices  vacant,  and  appointing  a 
secretary,  attorney-general  and  other  officers. — 
5.  Election  in  Kentucky  for  members  of  the 
Legislature,  the  returns  showing  a  large  Union 
majority. — 6.  Adjournment  sine  die  of  Special 
Congress  at  Washington. — 10.  Battle  of  Wilson's 


278  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Creek,  Mo.  Gen.  Lyon,  with  5200  men,  was 
defeated  by  the  combined  forces  of  Gens.  Price 
and  McCulloch,  20,000.  Gen.  Lyon  was  killed. 
—12.  C.  J.  Faulkner,  ex-Minister  of  U.  S.  to 
France,  arrested  on  a  charge  of  treason. — 14. 
Gen.  Fremont  declares  martial  law  in  St.  Louis, 
Mo.  All  loyal  men  notified  by  Jeff.  Davis  to 
leave  the  Confederate  States  in  forty  days.— 15. 
Proclamation  of  President  Lincoln  declaring 
commercial  intercourse  with  the  eleven  States  in 
rebellion  unlawful,  excepting  such  parts  thereof 
as  have  or  may  become  restored  to  loyal  govern- 
ment, and  forfeiting  all  vessels  therefrom  or 
bound  to  the  same  after  fifteen  days. — 19.  Pass- 
ports required,  by  notice  from  the  Department  of 
State,  from  all  persons  leaving  or  arriving  within 
the  United  States. — 20.  Gen.  McClellan  assumed 
command  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac.— 24.  A 
portion  of  the  Cherokee  Indians  made  an  alliance 
with  the  "Southern  Confederacy." 

President  Lincoln  appoints  26  Sep.  as  a  fast- 
day  (12  Aug.). 

The  Kentucky  Legislature  meets  (2  Sep.);  in 
the  Senate  the  vote  is  27  for  Union  and  n  for 
Secession ;  in  the  House,  76  for  Union  and  24 
for  Secession. 

The  Confederate  ironclad  Merrimac  makes  its 
first  appearance  in  sight  of  Fort  Monroe  (7  Oct ). 
The  Confederate  steamer  Theodore,  with  Mason 
and  Slidell  on  board,  escapes  from  Charleston, 
S.  C. 

Gen.  Fremont  and  Secretary  Cameron  hold  a 
conference.  An  attempt  is  made  to  burn  the 
blockading  fleet  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 
sippi ;  the  Confederate  ram  is  disabled. 

Secretary  Seward  sends  a  circular  to  the  Gov- 
ernors of  States  advising  sea-coast  and  lake 
defences  (14  Oct.). 

The  second  naval  expedition,  consisting  of  80 
vessels  and  15,000  men,  sails  from  Fortress 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  279 

Monroe  (29  Oct.);  The  naval  forces  are  under 
Commodore  Dupont ;  the  land  forces  under  Ge.n. 
Sherman. 

Lieut. -Gen.  Scott  resigns  as  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  armies  of  the  U.  S.  (31  Oct.);  Gen. 
McClellan  is  appointed  in  his  place  (i  Nov.). 

A  party  in  Missouri  pass  an  ordinance  of 
Secession  (2  Nov.). 

Maj.-Gen.  Fremont  is  removed  from  his  com- 
mand (2  Nov.),  and  is  succeeded  by  Gen.  Hunter 
in  the  command  of  the  Western  Department. 
Gen.  Fremont  returns  to  St.  Louis,  and  is  received 
there  with  the  most  enthusiastic  tokens  of  regard. 

Captain  Wilkes,  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  on  the  San 
Jacinto,  stops  the  British,  mail-steamer  Trent, 
and  takes  off  Mason  and  Slidell,  the  Confederate 
Commissioners,  as  prisoners  (8  Nov.),  and  takes 
them  to  Boston  (19  Nov.) 

The  Confederate  Congress  meets  at  Richmond 
(18  Nov.). 

Mason  and  Slidell  are  placed  in  Fort  "Warren 
(24  Nov.). 

A  party  in  Kentucky  pass  an  ordinance  of 
Secession  (30  Nov.). 

Gen.  McClellan  directs  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  in  all  the  camps  of  the  U.  S.  Army 
(30  Nov.). 

Lord  Lyons,  the  British  Minister  at  Washing- 
ton, is  instructed  by  the  British  Government 
{30  Nov.)  to  leave  America  in  7  days,  unless  the 
U.  S.  Government  consent  to  the  unconditional 
liberation  of  Mason  and  Slidell. 

Jefferson  Davis  is  elected  President  of  the  Con- 
federate States  for  six  years  (30  Nov.). 

Congress  votes  thanks  to  Capt.  Wilkes  for 
capturing  Mason  and  Slidell  (2  Dec.) ;  the 
foreign  envoys  at  Washington  protest  against 
this  act  (3  Dec.). 

News  comes  from  England  of  a  strong  feeling 
concerning  the  arrest  of  Mason  and  Slidell  (15 


28o  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Dec.);  the  attitude  assumed  is  threatening; 
troops  are  sent  to  Canada  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment as  a  precaution  against  military  trouble. 

Mason  and  Slidell  are  surrendered  to  the  British 
Minister,  Lord  Lyons  (27  Dec.). 

Banks  in  New  York  and  elsewhere  suspend  cash 
payments  (30  Dec.). 

The  national  expenses  of  the  year  are  $85  387- 
313;  the  debt  is  100,867,828;  the  imports  are 
$345,650,153  ;  and  the  exports,  $228,699,486. 
1862.  Mason  and  Slidell  leave  Fort  Warren  and 
sail  for  England  on  the  British  steamer  Rinaldo 
(i  Jan.). 

Waldo  P.  Johnson  and  Trustan  Polk,  of  Mis- 
souri, are  expelled  from  the  Senate  (lojan.). 

Simon  Cameron  resigns  his  position  as  Secre 
tary  of  War  (n  Jan.);  E.  M.  Stan  ton  is  appointed 
in  his  place. 

The  Federal  Government  decides  that  the  crews 
of  all  captured  privateers  are  to  be  regarded  as 
prisoners  of  \var  (3  Feb.).  The  Confederate 
steamer  Nashville  is  ordered  to  leave  Southamp- 
ton harbor,  Eng. ;  the  U.  S.  steamer  Tuscarora  en- 
deavors to  follow,  but  is  stopped  by  an  English 
frigate 

Commodore  Foote,  with  7  gunboats,  attacks 
Fort  Henry  on  the  Tennessee  River  ;  the  Confed- 
erate commander,  Gen.  Tilghman,  surrenders 
the  fort  unconditionally  (6  Feb.). 

Grant  captures  Fort  Donelson,  with  15,000 
prisoners  (16  Feb.). 

The  Confederate  Congress  meets  at  Richmond 
(19  Feb.). 

Grant  captures  Nashville,  Tenn.  (23  Feb.). 

Jefferson  Davis  is  inaugurated  at  Richmond  as 
President,  and  A.  H.  Stephens  as  Vice-President, 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy  (22  Feb.). 

Congress  passes  an  Act  for  the  additional  issue 
of  Treasury  Notes  (22  Feb.)  ;  by  it  $10,000,000,  in 
notes  of  less  than  $5  are  authorized  in  addition 
to  the  £50,000,000  previously  authorized. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  281 

President  Lincoln  approves  the  Legal  Tender 
Act  passed  by  Congress  ( 25  Feb. ) ;  by  it  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  is  authorized  to  issue  notes- 
of  not  less  than  $5  to  the  amount  of  $150,000,000, 
not  bearing  interest,  payable  in  Washington  and 
New  York,  the  notes  to  be  legal  tender  for  all 
debts,  public  and  private,  and  to  be  received  and 
paid  by  the  Government  for  all  purposes  except 
duties  on  imports  and  interest  on  the  public  debt ; 
those  to  be  paid  in  gold. 

The  Confederate  iron-plated  steamer  Merrimac, 
in  Hampton  Roads,  sinks  the  Federal  ship  Cum- 
berland and  compels  the  Congress  to  surrender 
(8  March) ;  but  is  repulsed  by  the  Federal  iron- 
clad floating  battery  Monitor  (9  March). 

Gen.  McClellan  takes  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  (n  March),  Gen.  Fremont  of  the 
Mountain  Department,  and  Gen.  Halleck  of  the 
Mississippi  (n  March). 

A  severe  battle  commences  at  Pittsburg  Laud- 
ing between  the  Federals  under  Grant  and  the 
Confederates  under  Johnston  and  Beauregard,. 
and  Grant  is  driven  from  his  position  with  severe 
loss  (6  April).  With  the  aid  of  Gen.  Buell's  re- 
inforcements Grant  recaptures  (7  April)  the 
camps  from  which  he  had  been  driven.  Over 
100,000  men  are  engaged  in  this  sanguinary 
battle,  and  about  10,000  are  killed  and  wounded 
on  each  side,  Gen.  Johnston  being  among  the 
killed. 

Congress  passes  a  bill  abolishing  slavery  in 
the  District  of  Columbia  (u  April)  ;  the  Act  pro- 
vides for  a  Commission  to  remunerate  loyal 
owners  ;  not  over  $300  a  slave  is  to  be  paid  ;  and 
$1,000,000  is  appropriated  for  the  purpose  ;  $100,- 
ooo  are  also  appropriated  for  their  colonization. 
An  Act  is  also  passed  abolishing  slavery  in  the 
"Territories  of  the  United  States. " 

The  taking  of  New  Orleans  (24  April)  by  a 
naval  force  under  Commodore  Farragut,  aided 


282  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

by  a  land  force  under  Gen.  Butler,  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  exploits  of  this  eventful  year. 
The  city  is  strongly  defended  ;  75  miles  below  it 
are  two  strong  forts  ;  and  below  these  a  chain  is 
stretched  across  the  river  with  earth-works  at 
each  end  ;  between  the  forts  and  the  chain  are  5 
rafts  filled  with  inflammable  material,  besides  13 
gunboats,  an  iron-clad  floating  battery,  and  an 
iron  ram.  Commodore  Farragut  cannonades  the 
forts  in  vain,  but  saves  his  vessels  from  the  burn- 
ing rafts  by  seizing  and  extinguishing  each  as  it 
floats  down.  At  last  he  decides  to  attempt  to  run 
by  the  forts  with  his  fleet.  He  accordingly  gets 
underway,  and  while  the  forts,  the  steamers  and 
the  battery  all  pour  their  fire  upon  the  fleet,  it 
steams  steadily  up  the  river  till  all  danger  is 
passed ;  the  Union  vessel  Varuna  alone  sinks  or 
disables  6  Confederate  steamers ;  Farragut  an- 
chors off  the  quarantine  station  (24  April);  and 
takes  possession  of  New  Orleans  (25  April). 

Gen.  Butler  enters  New  Orleans  with  a  land 
force  and  proclaims  martial  law  (i  May). 

The  Seward-Lyons  treaty  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  U.  S.  for  the" suppression  of  the 
slave-trade  is  ratified  (20  May). 

General  Pope  is  assigned  to  the  command  of 
the  Army  of  Virginia  (26  June).  The  Confeder- 
ates, under  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  attack  McCIel- 
lan's  right  wing  at  Mechanicsville  (26  June). 

President  Lincoln  gives  approval  to  an  Act  of 
Congress  granting  aid  for  the  construction  of  a 
railroad  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Pacific  Ocean 
< r  July). 

President  Lincoln,  in  response  to  the  official 
requests  of  the  Governors  of  18  States,  callafor 
300,000 volunteers  (i  July).  The  battle  of  Malvern 
Hills  closes  a  seven  days'  struggle  with  the  re- 
pulse of  the  Confederates  (i  July). 

Gen.  Halleck  is  appointed  commander  of  all 
the  land  forces  of  the  U.  S.  (u  July). 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  283 

The  Confederates  capture  Cynthiana,  Ky.  (17). 
President  Lincoln  sanctions  a  bill  confiscating 
the  property  and  emancipating  the  slaves  of  all 
persons  who  shall  continue  in  arms  against  the 
Union  for  60  days  (17  July). 

Gen.  Halleck  orders  Gen.  McClellan  to  evacu- 
ate the  Peninsula  of  Virginia  (3  Aug.). 

The  War  Department  issues  an  order  (4  Aug.) 
for  a  draft  of  300,000  more  men  for  the  service  of 
the  U.  S. ,  to  serve  for  nine  months,  unless  pre- 
viously discharged ;  it  is  also  directed  that  if  any 
State  shall  not  by  the  i-^th  of  August  furnish  its 
quota  of  men,  by  volunteers,  the  deficiency  shall 
be  made  up  by  a  special  draft  from  the  militia. 

The  Habeas  Corpus  Act  is  ordered  to  be  sus- 
pended (8  Aug.).  Orders  are  also  issued  for  the 
arrest  of  all  persons  found  discouraging  enlist- 
ments, prohibiting  the  issuance  of  passports,  and 
enjoining  newspaper  correspondents  from  ac- 
companying the  armies  (8  Aug.). 

The  Federals  are  defeated  at  the  second  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  and  retreat  under  cover  of  the 
night  (30  Aug.). 

The  battle  of  Chantilly  is  fought  in  the  midst 
of  a  thunder-storm  (r  Sep.);  Gen.  Kearney  is 
shot  by  a  Confederate  soldier  of  whom  he  made 
some  enquiry  by  mistake,  supposing  him  to  be  a 
Union  soldier  ;  Gen.  Stevens  is  also  killed.  Gen. 
Buruside's  army  evacuate  Fredericksburg  (i). 
Union  troops  evacuate  Lexington,  Ky.  (i).  The 
Confederates  are  expected  to  attack  Louisville 
(i),  and  there  is  great  excitement  in  Cincinnati. 

Gen.  Lee  crosses  the  Potomac  with  his  army 
(5  Sep.),  and  marches  to  Fredrick,  the  bands 
playing  "Maryland,  my  Maryland."  Gen. 
Bragg  enters  Kentucky  on  his  grand  raid  (5). 

Gen.  Banks  is  assigned  to  the  command  of 
the  fortifications  in  and  around  Washington  (7). 
Gen.  McClellan  takes  the  field  at  the  head  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  (7).  Cumberland  Gap  is 
evacuated  by  the  Federals  (7). 


284  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

The  Confederates  evacuate  Frederick  (9). 

Lee,  at  bay,  takes  a  strong  position  behind 
Antietam  Creek  (14);  a  desperate  struggle  ensues 
at  ^the  Bridge,  and  both  forces  are  nearly  de- 
stroyed ;  reinforcements  come  up,  and  Harper's 
Ferry  surrenders  (15);  the  Confederates  attempt 
to  blockade  the  Ohio  (15) ;  and  then  re  cross  the 
Potomac  into  yirginia  (18). 

President  Lincoln  issues  his  Emancipation 
Proclamation  (22  Sep.) :  "That  on  the  first  day 
of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held 
as  slaves  within  any  State,  the  people  whereof 
shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  shall  be  then,  thenceforth,  and  forever 
free  ;  and  the  Executive  Government  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval 
authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain 
the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act 
or  acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them, 
in  any  effort  they  may  make  for  their  personal 
freedom."  The  President  expounds  the  mean- 
ing of  this  proclamation  in  the  following  message 
to  Congress:  "In  giving  freedom  to  the  slave, 
we  assure  freedom  to  the  free,  honorable  alike  in 
what  we  give,  and  what  we  preserve.  We  shall 
nobly  save,  or  meanly  lose,  the  best  hope  of 
earth.  The  way  is  plain,  peaceful,  glorious,  just 
a  way  which,  if  followed,  the  world  will  forever 
applaud,  and  God  must  forever  bless." 

McClellan  removed  from  command,  and  Burn- 
side  takes  his  place  (Nov.  7). 

President  Lincoln  enjoins  on  the  forces  the 
orderly  observance  of  the  Sabbath  (16  Nov.). 

Gen.  Banks'  expedition  sails  for  New  Orleans 
(6  Dec.). 

Union  defeat  at  Fredericksburg.  Great  slaugh- 
ter (Dec.  13). 

The  Sioux  Indians,  becoming  dissatisfied  with 
the  payment  of  money  claimed  by  them,  take 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  285 

the  war- path  (26  Dec.);  Little  Crow  and  other 
chiefs  perpetrate  barbarous  outrages  in  Dakota, 
Iowa  and  Minnesota;  hundreds  of  the  inhabit- 
ants are  butchered;  and  thousands,  driven  from 
their  homes,  see  all  they  possess  burned  by  these 
remorseless  wretches.  The  savages  are  finally 
routed.  Thirty-nine  of  them  are  tried,  con- 
demned to  death,  and  hanged  at  Mankato,  Minn. 
(26  Dec.). 

The  money  issued  by  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment has  steadily  depreciated  in  value.  Flour 
brings  $40  per  barrel;  salt  $i  per  lb.;  a  pair  of 
boots,  $50.  Woolen  clothing  is  scarce,  and  the 
army  depend  largely  on  captures  from  the  more 
ample  Federal  stores.  A  spool  of  thread  came  to 
be  worth  $20;  a  pound  of  sugar,  $75;  and  a  pound 
of  black  pepper,  $300. 

The  National  expenses  for  the  year  are  $5/0,- 
841,700;  the  debt  is  $514,211,371;  the  imports 
are  $205,771,729;  and  the  exports,  $213,069,519. 
1863.  President  Lincoln  issues  his  Emancipation 
Proclamation  (i  Jan.),  announced  in  Sept.,  1862. 
The  number  of  slaves  made  nominally  free  by 
this  proclamation  is  about  3,120,000. 

Gen.  Burnside  is  relieved  of  the  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  (28  Jan.),  and  Gen. 
Hooker  is  appointed  in  his  place.  Gen.  Sumner 
and  Gen.  Franklin  are  also  relieved  from  duty  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  (28).  A  steamer  and 
300  Confederates  are  captured  near  Van  Buren, 
Mo.  (28). 

Maj.-Gen.  Burnside  is  appointed  to  command 
the  Department  of  the  Ohio  (2  Feb). 

A  disloyal  State  Convention  at  Frankfort,  Ky., 
is  dispersed  by  the  military  (18). 

President  Lincoln  sanctions  (3  March)  a  finan- 
cial bill  which  has  passed  Congress,  the  first 
section  of  which  authorizes  a  loan  of  $300,000,000 
for  the  current  fiscal  year,  for  which  bonds  are 
to  be  issued,  payable  at  such  times  as  the  Secre- 


286  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

tary  of  the  Treasury  may  elect,  at  not  lecs  than 
ten  and  not  more  than  forty  years.  A  farther 
clause  provides  for  the  issue  of  Treasury  Notes 
to  the  amount  of  5400,000,000,  to  run  not  more 
than  three  years,  to  bear  interest  at  six  per  cem, 
and  to  be  legal  tender.  Fractional  currency  is 
to  be  issued  to  the  amount  of  $50,000,000. 

Conscription  Act  passed  (12  March).  By  this 
act  all  able-bodied  male  citizens,  and  all  pe'rsons 
of  foreign  birth  who  have  declared  their  intention 
of  becoming  citizens,  and  who  have  voted,  t-e- 
tween  the  ages  of  20  and  45,  are  made  liable  to 
be  called  into  the  service  of  the  country,  unless 
specially  excepted.  The  exceptions  include  the 
physically  or  mentally  incapable;  the  only  son 
of  a  widow,  or  of  infirm  parents  requiring  their 
son's  labor  for  actual  support;  the  only  brother 
of  children  without  father  or  mother,  under 
twelve,  dependent  on  him  for  support;  and  the 
father  of  motherless  children  under  twelve  de- 
pendent on  him  for  support.  The  conscripts  are 
divided  into  two  classes:  First,  all  below  35  years 
of  age,  and  all  unmarried  persons  between  35 
and  45;  second,  married  persons  between  35  and 
45.  The  second  class  are  not  to  be  called  into 
the  service  till  the  first  class  are  exhausted.  It 
is  estimated  that,  after  allowing  for  all  excep- 
tions, the  President  has  4,000,000  men  he  may 
call  upon  for  service.  The  act  also  provides  that 
any  person  drafted  may  be  discharged  by  pay- 
ment of  a  sum,  not  exceeding  $300,  to  be  fixed 
by  the  Secretary  of  War. 

Admiral  Farragut,  with  seven  of  his  fleet, 
passes  Port  Hudson  (14  March)  after  a  fierce 
engagement,  in  which  the  Mississippi  is  disabled, 
and  then  burned  by  the  Admiral's  orders. 

Admiral  Farragut,  with  the  Hartford,  Switz- 
erland and  Albatross,  engages  and  passes  the 
grand  Gulf  batteries  (i  April);  he  pursues  his 
•  course  (2  April)  as  far  as  Red  River,  destroying 
Confederate  gnnboats. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  287 

At  Richmond,  Va. ,  exasperated  women  create 
a  bread  riot  (2  April). 

Gen.  Grant's  army  lands  near  Port  Gibson, 
Miss.  (30  April);  defeats  the  Confederates. 
(i  May),  taking  500  prisoners  ;  and  he  begins  bis 
march  to  Vicksburg. 

The  battle  of  Chancellorsville  takes  place  be- 
tween the  armies  of  Hooker  and  Lee  (2  May); 
after  a  very  fierce  battle,  in  which  the  illustrious 
"Stonewall"  Jackson  is  wounded,  by  mistake, 
by  his  own  men,  the  Federals  are  checked. 

"Stonewall"  Jackson  dies  at  Richmond,  Va. 
(10  May),  of  wounds  and  pneumonia,  aged  39. 

At  the  battle  of  Champion  Hill,  Miss.,  Grant 
drives  the  forces  under  Pernberton  as  far  as  the 
Big  Black  River  (16);  and  the  Federals,  under 
Grant  and  Porter,  invest  Vicksburg  (18);  they 
assault  Vicksburg  (22),  and  are  repulsed  after  a 
very  heavy  fight. 

Gen.  Hunter  is  removed  from  the  command  of 
the  Department  of  the  South  (i  June),  and  is 
succeeded  by  Gen.  Gilmore. 

Lee  marches  into  Maryland  (15  June);  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  calls  for  100,000  men  to  repel  the 
invasion.  Lee  advances  as  far  north  as  Cham- 
bersburg  (16);  and  Gen.  Milroy  makes  another 
unsuccessful  attack  on  Harper's  Ferry  (16). 

Rear-Admiral  Foote  dies  in  New  York  City 
(26  June). 

General  Hooker,  at  his  own  request,  is  re- 
relieved  from  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  (29  June),  and  is  succeeded  by  Gen. 
Meade. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  begins  (i  July);  Gen. 
Geo.  G.  Meade  commands  the  Union  forces,  with 
an  army  of  80,000  ;  Gen.  Lee  commands  the  Con- 
federates, with  an  army  about  equal.  The  Con- 
federates were  utterly  defeated  after  a  three  days 
battle,  in  which  both  armies  showed  almost  un- 
exampled valor. 


288  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

July  4. — Vicksburg  surrendered  uncondition- 
ally by  Gen.  Pemberton,  with  27,000  men  and 
two  hundred  cannon. 

1863.  President  Lincoln  rejects  the  demand  for  the 
suppression  of  the  conscription   in   New   York 
State  (7  Aug.). 

President  Lin  coin  suspends  the  Habeas  Corpus 
Act  (15  Sept). 

The  Department  of  the  Cumberland  and  the 
Mississippi  are  consolidated  under  Gen.  Grant 
( 20  Oct. ).  Gen.  Rosecrans  is  succeeded  by  Gen. 
Thompson  (20). 

The  storming  and  capture  of  "  Lookout  Moun- 
tain "  (24  Nov.);  Hooker's  celebrated  "fight 
above  the  clouds;"  Gen.  Bragg  is  defeated 
(24  Nov.). 

Jefferson  Davis  issues  his  annual  message 
(7  Dec.).  U.  S.  Congress  re-assembles  (7). 

Longstreet's  soldiers  begin  to  desert  at  the  rate 
of  from  twenty  to  fifty  per  day  (23  Dec.). 

The  national  expenses  for  the  year  are  $895,- 
796,630;  the  debt  is  11,098,793,181;  the  imports 
are  1:252,919,920;  and  the  exports,  1305,884,998. 

1864.  A  great  meeting  is  held  at  Cooper  Institute, 
New  York,  to  celebrate  the  First  Anniversary  of 
Freedom  (i  Jan.). 

President  Lincoln  orders  a  draft  for  500,000 
men  (i  Feb.). 

Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  with  his  troops,  leaves 
"Vicksburg  (3  Feb.),  and  arrives  at  Meridian, 
Miss.,  on  his  great  raid  into  the  heart  of  the 
enemy's  country  f  15  Feb.);  he  destroys  the  rail- 
way communications  of  the  enemy  and  much 
stores. 

Gen.  Grant  is  appointed  to  the  command  of 
all  the  armies  (g  March),  under  the  title  of  Lieu- 
tenant-General.  He  plans  two  simultaneous 
movements  :  one  against  Richmond,  Va.,  by  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  the  command  of 
Gen.  Meade ;  the  other  against  Atlanta,  Ga., 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  289 

under  the  direction  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  who 
undertakes  to  march  an  army  across  the  interior 
of  the  rebellious  States,  from  the  mountains  to 
the  sea. 

The  Governors  of  Ohio,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Wis- 
consin and  Indiana  offer  to  raise  for  the  General 
Government  85,000  men  for  a  hundred  days  (23 
April);  the  Government  accepts  the  offer  (26 
April),  and  appropriates  $20,000,000  for  payment 
of  the  men. 

Grant's  army  moves  across  the  Rapidan, 
toward  Chancellorsville  and  the  Wilderness  (3 
May). 

The  Bill  for  Reconstruction  is  passed  (4  May). 

A  draft  is  ordered  in  Massachusetts,  New 
Jersey,  Ohio,  Minnesota,  Kentucky  and  Mary- 
land (5  May). 

Lee  makes  a  series  of  unsuccessful  attacks 
upon  the  Federal  forces  in  the  Wilderness  (5,  6, 
7,8,  10,  n,  12  May);  during  the  first  two  days, 
in  the  bloody  fray,  that  lasted  from  the  dawn  of 
the  5th  to  sunset  of  the  6th,  15,000  men  on  each 
side  are  slaughtered. 

After  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania  Court  House 
(9-12  May)  Grant  telegraphs  to  Lincoln  that  he 
proposes  "to  fight  it  out  on  this  line,  if  it  takes 
all  summer." 

Sherman  moves  from  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  (8 
May),  on  his  advance  to  Atlanta. 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne  dies  (16  May),  aged  60. 

The  South  Carolina  Union  Convention  meets 
at  Beaufort  (17  May). 

Lincoln  is  renominated  for  President,  and 
Andrew  Johnson  for  Vice-President  (8  June). 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  is  repealed  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  (13  June). 

Grant's  army  crosses  the  James  River  (14  June). 

Gen.  Leonidas  Polk  is  killed  at  Pine  Moun- 
tain, Ga.  (14);  Sherman  advances  toward  Kene- 
saw  (14). 


290  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Confederate  privateers  have  been  for  some 
time  very  destructive  to  American  merchant 
vessels ;  the  Shenandoah  has  destroyed  thirty-four 
•whale-ships  in  the  Arctic  Seas,  and  the  Alabama 
has  taken  sixty-five  vessels.  The  Alabama  is 
attacked  (19  June)  by  the  U.  S.  S.  Kearsarge, 
Captain  Winslow,  off  Cherbourg,  France.  Dur- 
ing the  action,  the  two  vessels  steam  at  the  rate 
of  seven  miles  an  hour,  and  swing  round  one 
another  in  circles  so  as  to  bring  their  broadsides 
to  bear.  After  describing  seven  of  these  circles, 
and  coming  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  each 
other,  the  Alabama  is  sunk,  Captain  Semmes 
and  his  men  being. picked  up  by  an  English 
yacht. 

Secretary  Chase  resigns  (30  June),  and  Hon. 
William  Fessenden  is  appointed  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 

Sherman's  army  crosses  the  Chattahoochee 
(16  July)  in  pursuit  of  Johnston.  Johnston  is 
superseded  by  Gen.  John  B.  Hood  (iS). 

Hood  makes  a  desperate  but  unsuccessful 
attack  on  Sherman's  lines  round  Atlanta,  losing 
not  less  than  20,000  killed,  wounded  and  pris- 
oners (22  July);  Gen.  McPherson  is  killed  by  a 
Confederate  at  this  battle.  The  Louisiana  State 
Convention  adopts  the  new  constitution  abolish- 
ing slavery  (22). 

A  mine  containing  six  tons  of  powder,  under  a 
Confederate  fort  at  Petersburg,  explodes,  de- 
stroying the  fort  and  garrison  (30  July).  Cham- 
bers'burg,  Pa.,  is  burnt  by  the  Confederates  (30). 

Admiral  Farragut's  fleet  passes  Forts  Morgan 
and  Gaines  (5  Aug.);  the  Confederate  ram 
Tennessee  is  captured,  and  several  other  vessels 
are  destroyed;  and  Fort  Gaines  surrenders,  and 
Fort  Powell  is  evacuated  (5). 

McClellan  is  nominated  for  President  by  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  at  Chicago, 
and  Geo.  H.  Pendleton  for  Vice-President  (29 
Aug.). 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  291 

Federal  troops  take  possession  of  Atlanta  (2 
Sept.). 

The  Confederate  General  John  Morgan  is  killed 
near  Greenville,  Tenn.  (7  Sept.). 

Sherman's  army  is  concentrated  at  Atlanta 
(9  Sept.). 

At  the  battle  of  Winchester,  Sheridan  captures 
5000  prisoners,  all  the  wounded,  and  five  guns 
(IQ  Sept.).  The  steamer  Island  Queen  is  cap- 
tured and  sunk  on  Lake  Erie  (19). 
•  Gen.  Grant  advances  his  lines  on  the  north 
side  of  the  James  River  to  within  seven  miles  of 
Richmond  (28  Sept.). 

The  Confederates  under  Gen.  Sterling  Price 
invade  Missouri  (28). 

Sheridan  defeats  the  Confederates  at  Cedar 
Creek  (19  Oct.). 

The  Presidential  election  takes  place  (8  Nov.); 
the  Republican  candidates,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
President,  and  Andrew  Johnson,  Vice-President, 
are  elected,  receiving  the  electoral  votes  of  22 
States,  213  in  all.  The  Democratic  party  had 
'  nominated  Gen  George  B.McClellan  for  President, 
and  Geo.  H.  Pendleton  for  Vice- President.  They 
secured  only  the  votes  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
and  Kentucky,  21  in  all.  McClellan  resigns  his 
command  in  the  army  (8). 

General  Sherman  begins  (16  Nov.)  his  great 
march  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea,  the  army  of  60,- 
ooo  advancing  in  two  colums  under  Generals 
Howard  and  Slocum,  and  largely  subsisting  on 
what  could  be  found  in  the  fertile  country 
through  which  it  passed. 

At  the  battle  of  Franklin  (30  Nov.),  Hood  is 
repulsed  with  a  loss  of  5000  men,  guns,  flags,  and 
1000  prisoners ;  the  Union  loss  is  1500. 

The  second  session  of  the  38th  Congress  meets 
(5  Dec.). 

Gen  Thomas  defeats  the  Confederates  under 
Gen.  Hood  near  Nashville,  Tenn.  (14-16  Dec.). 


292  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Sherman  storms  Fort  McAllister  (13  Dec.),  and 
enters  Savannah  (21). 

General  Butler  and  Admiral  Porter  are  repulsed 
in  an  attack  on  Wilmington  (24-25  Dec.). 

The  National  expenses  for  the  year,  including 
payments  on  loans,  are  $1,298, 144,656  ;  the  debt 
is  $1,740,690,489 ;  the  imports  are  $329,562,895  ; 
and  the  exports,  $320.035,199. 
1865.  Gen.  Sherman  resumes  his  great  march  north 
ward  (6  June).  Writing  of  this  march,  he  says  : 
"  Christmas  found  us  at  Savannah.  Waiting 
there  only  long  enough  to  fill  our  wagons,  we 
began  another  march,  which  for  peril,  labor  and 
results,  will  compare  with  any  ever  made  by  an 
organized  army.  The  floods  of  the  Savannah, 
the  swamps  of  the  Combahee  and  the  Edisto,  the 
high  hills  and  rocks  of  the  Santee,  the  flat  quag- 
mires of  the  Pedee  and  Cape  Fear  Rivers,  were 
all  passed  in  mid- winter,  with  its  floods  and  rain, 
in  the  face  of  an  accumulating  enemy ;  and  after 
the  battles  of  Averysborough  and  Bentonsville, 
we  once  more  came  out  of  the  wilderness  to  mett 
our  friends  at  Goldsboro." 

A  meeting  is  held  at  Savannah  to  thank  New 
York  and  Boston  for  their  generous  supplies  of 
food  and  clothing  (25  Jan.). 

A  debate  is  held  in  the  Confederate  Congress 
concerning  the  enlistment  of  negroes  (26  Jan.). 

The  Confederate  Vice-President,  Alex.  H.  Ste- 
phens, Senator  R.  M.  T.  Hunter  and  Judge 
Campbell  come  as  Peace  Commissioners  within 
Grant's  lines  (30 Jan.).  Sherman  reaches  Savan- 
nah River,  50  miles  above  Savannah  (30). 

President  Lincoln  arrives  at  Fortress  Monroe 
to  meet  the  Confederate  Commissioners  (2  Feb. ) ; 
the  meeting  (3)  is  without  result.  At  Richmond, 
gold  is  4400  per  cent  premium  (2). 

Gen.  Lee  assumes  supreme  command  of  the 
Confederate  forces  (17  Feb.),  and  recommends 
arming  the  blacks. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  293 

Sherman  captures  Columbia,  S.  C.  (17  Feb.). 
The  Confederates  evacuate  Charleston,  and  it  is 
occupied  (18)  by  Union  forces  under  Gen.  Gil- 
inore  ;  200  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  large  supply 
of  ammunition  are  captured  ;  6000  bales  of  cotton 
are  destroyed  ;  much  ammunition  stored  in  the 
railroad  depot  is  destroj'ed,  and  many  lives  are 
lost  by  the  explosion. 

Fort  Anderson,  N.  C.,  is  taken  (19  Feb.). 

Schofield  captures  Wilmington  (22).  The  Con- 
federate Congress  decrees  that  the  colored  people 
shall  be  armed  (22). 

Inauguration  of  President  Lincoln  and  Andrew 
Johnson  as  Vice-President  (4  March). 

The  Confederate  Congress  adjourns  sine  die 
(17  March). 

The  Confederates  attack  General  Grant  and 
are  severely  defeated  (25  March).  The  three 
days'  battle  at  Five  Forks  begins  (31)  ;  Sheridan 
turns  Lee's  flank  and  totally  defeats  him  (i 
April) ;  Lee  retreats  (2).  Richmond  is  taken 
(2-3  April). 

General  Lee  and  his  whole  army  surrender  ta 
Gen.  Grant  at  Appomattox  Court  House  (9 
April). 

The  Union  flag  is  hoisted  over  Fort  Sumter 
(12  April). 

On  the  evening  of  I4th  April,  President  Lin- 
coln, Mrs.  Lincoln,  Major  Rathbone  and  Miss- 
Morris  occupy  a  box  at  Ford's  Theatre,  Washing- 
ton ;  at  about  half-past  nine  o'clock  J.  Wilkes. 
Booth  creeps  stealthily  into  the  box,  shoots  the 
President,  rushes  to  the  front  of  the  box,  brand- 
ishes a  large  knife,  shouts  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis  f 
The  South  is  avenged,"  and  leaps  on  to  the 
stage  ;  his  spur  catches  in  the  American  flag,  and 
he  breaks  his  leg.  The  ball  enters  just  behind 
the  President's  left  ear  and  lodges  in  the  brain  ; 
he  is  at  once  removed  to  a  private  house  oppo- 
site the  theatre. 


294  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

About  the  same  hour  an  attempt  is  made  to 
assassinate  Secretary  Seward  and  h:s  son,  both 
being  wounded. 

President  Lincoln  dies  at  twenty-two  min- 
utes past  7  o'clock,  a.  m.  (15  April).  Johnson 
takes  the  oath  of  office  as  President  (15.) 
1865.  J.  Wilkes  Booth,  the  murderer  of  the  Presi- 
dent, after  ten  days'  wandering  and  misery,  is 
tracked  to  a  barn  near  Bowling  Green,  Va.,  and 
refusing  to  surrender  is  shot  (26  April). 

Jefferson  Davis  captured  (May  10)  at  Irwins- 
ville,  75  miles  south  of  Macon,  Ga. ,  by  the  4th 
Michigan  cavalry,  under  Col.  Pritchard,  of  Gen. 
Wilson's  command  ;  also  his  wife,  mother,  Post- 
master-General Regan,  Col.  Harrison,  private 
secretary,  Col.  Johnson,  and  others. 

President  Johnson  proclaims  the  opening  of 
the  Southern  ports  (22  May). 

Kirby  Smith  surrenders  (26  May),  and  the  last 
armed  Confederate  organization  succumbs. 

President  Johnson  proclaims  an  amnesty,  with 
certain  exceptions  (29  May). 

The  Confederate  Gen.  Hood  and  staff  surrender 
(31  May). 

President  Johnson  rescinds  the  order  requiring 
passports  from  all  travelers  entering  the  U.  S. 
(22  June). 

The  trial  of  Payne,  Atzerott,  Harold,  and  Mrs. 
Surratt  for  complicity  in  the  assassination  of 
President  Lincoln  is  concluded  (29  June) ;  they 
are  found  guilty  (29),  and  executed  (7  July). 

A  national  Thanksgiving  for  peace  is    held 

(2  NOV.). 

All  restrictions  on  southern  ports  are  removed 
<i  Sep.). 

Proclamation  of  the  President  putting  an  end 
to  martial  law  in  Kentucky  (12  Oct.).  Pardon 
of  Alexander  Stephens  and  other  southern  offi- 
cials (12). 

The    Confederate    privateer  Shenandoah  sur- 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  295 

renders  at  Liverpool  (6  Nov.),  after  having  de- 
stroyed about  thirty  vessels  ;  the  crew  are  released 
on  parole  (8),  and  the  vessel  is  given  up  to  the 
American  Consul  (9). 

The  Habeas  Corpus  Act  is  restored  in  the 
Northern  States  (i  Dec. ). 

The  correspondence  between  the  British  and 
U.  S.  Governments  respecting  the  depredations 
of  the  Alabama,  Shenandoah,  etc.,  begun  in 
April,  closes  2  Dec.;  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  main- 
tains that  ' '  no  armed  vessel  departed  during  the 
war  from  a  British  port,  to  cruise  against  the 
commerce  of  the  U.  S." 

The  39th  Congress  meets,  4  Dec.;  the  Repub- 
lican party  predominate,  and  move  resolutions 
against  the  restoration  of  the  Southern  States  to 
the  Union ;  eighty-five  members  from  the 
Southern  States  are  excluded  from  Congress. 

The  National  expenses  for  the  year,  including 
payments  on  loans,  are  $1,897,674,224  ;  the  debt 
is  $2,682,593,026;  the  imports  are  $248,555, 652  ; 
and  the  exports  $323,743,187. 

1866.  The  celebration  of  the  centenary  of  American 
Methodism  opens  on  the  first  Sunday  in  Jan.  and 
closes  on  the  last  Sunday  in  Oct. ;  during  this 
period  the  sum  of  $8,032,755  is  collected  for 
church  purposes. 

The  U.  S.  Government,  having  notified  France 
that  a  longer  continuance  of  French  troops  in 
Mexico  will  be  disagreeable  to  it,  is  informed,  9 
Jan.,  that  the  Emperor  will  withdraw  a  portion 
in  Nov.,  and  the  remainder  early  next  year ;  our 
Minister  to  France  is  subsequently  informed  that 
military  reasons  will  prevent  any  withdrawals 
this  year.  Gen.  Ortega,  a  pretender  to  the  Presi- 
dency, after  spending  several  months  in  the 
U.  S.,  leaves  New  Orleans  30  Oct.,  and  with  his 
suite  is  arrested  at  Brazos  Santiago,  3  Nov.,  by 
order  of  Gen.  Sheridan,  3  Nov.  Gen.  Sherman 
and  Judge  Campbell,  special  commissioners  to 


296  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

tender  the  sympathy  and  support  of  the  U.  S, 
to  the  Republican  Government  of  President 
Juarez,  leave  New  York  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Susque- 
hanna,  n  Nov.,  and  reach  Vera  Cruz  27. 

Congress  passes  a  bill  to  enlarge  the  operations 
of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  6  Feb.;  the  President 
vetoes  it,  19,  and  Congress  passes  it  over  the 
veto,  i6July. 

The  President  declares  his  hostility  to  Con- 
gress and  denounces  the  Reconstruction  Commit- 
tee in  a  speech  at  the  Executive  Mansion,  22 
Feb. 

Congress  passes  the  Civil  Rights  bill,  16 
March  ;  it  is  vetoed  by  the  President,  27,  and 
is  passed  over  his  veto  9  April. 

A  proclamation  is  issued  by  the  President,  2 
April,  declaring  the  insurrection  in  the  Southern 
States,  excepting  Texas,  at  an  end. 

Jefferson  Davis  is  indicted  by  the  Grand  Jury 
of  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court,  of  Va.,  8  May  ;  Judge 
Underwood  declines  to  release  him  on  bail, 
ii  June. 

A  new  Atlantic  cable  is  finished,  early  in  May, 
and  successfully  laid  by  the  Great  Eastern;  27 
July ;  the  lost  cable  of  1865  is  picked  up,  i  Sep., 
spliced,  2,  and  laid  without  accident. 

Congress  adopts  the  I4th  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution,  13  June. 

By  Act  of  Congress,  23  July,  Tennessee  is  for- 
mally restored  to  the  Union. 

Congress  creates  the  grades  of  Admiral  and 
Vice-Admiral  in  the  navy  and  revives  that  of 
General  in  the  army,  25  July ;  Farragut  is  pro- 
moted to  Admiral,  Porter  to  Vice-Admiral, 
Grant  to  General,  and  Sherman  to  Lieutenant- 
General. 

A  gold  medal,  purchased  by  the  subscriptions 
of  40,000  French  citizens,  for  Mrs.  Abraham 
Lincoln  is  delivered  by  a  committee  to  U.  S. 
Minister  Bigelow,  at  Paris,  I  Dec. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  297 

A  bill  granting  the  elective  franchise  to  citizens 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  irrespective  of  race 
or  color,  passes  Congress,  14  Dec. 

The  national  expenses  for  the  year  are  $520,- 
809,416;  the  debt  is  $2, 783,425, 879  ;  the  imports 
are  1445,512,158;  and  the  exports,  $550,684,277. 
1867.  The  President  vetoes  the  District  of  Columbia 
Bill,  7  Jan.  On  the  same  day  Representative 
Ashley,  of  Ohio,  charges  him  with  the  commis- 
sion of  acts  which  are  high  crimes  and  misde- 
meanors, for  which  he  ought  to  be  impeached ; 
and  a  resolution  instructing  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee to  investigate  the  subject  is  adopted  by  a 
vote  of  137  to  38. 

The  bill  for  the  admission  of  Colorado  into  the 
Union  is  adopted,  but  the  President  vetoes  it, 
28  Jan.;  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  Nebraska  is 
also  adopted ;  it  is  vetoed,  29  Jan.,  and  passed 
over  the  veto,  i  March. 

The  Evangelical  Alliance  of  the  U.  S.  is 
organized  in  New  York,  30  Jan.;  with  William 
E.  Dodge  as  president. 

Mexico  City  is  evacuated  by  the  French,  5 
Feb.;  Maximilian  suddenly  leaves  La  Teja,  and 
unites  his  small  force  with  the  armies  of  Mir- 
amon  and  Mejia  at  Queretaro,  where  with  8000 
adherents  they  are  besieged  by  Gen.  Escobedo 
during  March  and  April ;  by  the  treachery  of 
Gen.  Lopez,  the  Emperor's  bosom  friend,  the 
Liberal  troops  are  admitted  to  the  city,  15  May, 
and  take  the  entire  Imperial  force  prisoners,  15 
May  ;  a  court-martial  for  the  trial  of  Maximilian 
and  Gens.  Miramon  and  Mejia  assembles,  13 
June,  and  condemns  them  to  be  shot,  16 ;  despite 
the  protest  of  the  Prussian  Minister  to  Mexico 
and  the  appeals  for  clemency  of  Secretary  Seward, 
;  the  sentence  is  carried  out,  19 ;  the  body  of 
Maximilian  is  given  to  the  Consul-General  of 
Austria,  and  after  being  embalmed  is  conveyed 
to  Austria  on  an  Imperial  steamer. 


98  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Thaddeus  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania,  introduces 
the  "Military  Reconstruction  Bill,"  providing 
for  the  division  of  the  insurrectionary  States  into 
five  military  districts,  into  Congress,  6  Feb. ;  it 
passes  the  House,  13,  the  Senate,  with  amend- 
ments, 1 6,  both  Houses  concur  in  it,  2  March, 
the  President  vetoes  it  the  same  day,  and  Con- 
gress passes  it  over  the  veto. 

An  Act  designed  to  restrict  the  exercise  of  the 
power  of  appointment  and  removal  by  the  Presi- 
dent is  adopted  by  Congress,  2  March,  vetoed  by 
the  President  the  same  day,  and  passed  over 
the  veto. 

Congress  adopts  a  national  bankruptcy  bill, 
and  establishes  a  Department  of  Education,  2 
March;  Henry  Barnard,  LL/.  D.,  President  of 
St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  is  appointed  and 
confirmed  Commissioner  of  Education,  16. 

The  4oth  Congress  convenes,  4  March;  Schuyler 
Colfax  is  elected  Speaker  of  the  House  for  the 
third  time,  and  Edward  McPherson  is  re-elected 
clerk  ;  a  supplement  to  the  Reconstruction  Act 
is  concurred  in,  19,  vetoed  by  the  President,  23, 
and  passed  over  the  veto. 

A  treaty  is  signed  between  the  U.  S.  and 
Russia,  30  March,  for  the  transfer  of  the  tract  of 
land  known  as  Russian  America  (Alaska)  to  the 
U.  S.  for  the  sum  of  $7,200,000;  ratifications  are 
exchanged,  20  June,  and  the  formal  transfer  is 
made  to  Gen.  Rousseau,  at  New  Archangel 
(Sitka),  9  Oct. 

Jefferson  Davis  is  taken  to  Richmond,  Va.,  13 
May,  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  on  the 
application  of  his  counsel  is  admitted  to  bail  in 
the  sum  of  $100,000,  to  appear  at  Richmond,  26 
Nov.  The  following  act  as  sureties  on  the  bond  : 
Horace  Greeley,  Augustus  Schell,  N.  Y.;  Aris- 
tides  Welsh,  David  K.  Jackman,  Phila.;  W.  PI. 
McFarland,  Richard  B.  Haxall,  Isaac  Daven- 
port, Abraham  Warwick,  G.  A.  Myers,  W.  W. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  299 

Crump,  James  Lyons,  J.  A.  Meredith,  W.  H. 
Lyons,  John  M.  Botts,  Thomas  W.  Boswell,  and 
James  Thomas,  Jr. ,  all  of  Virginia ;  on  26  Nov. 
the  examination  is  adjourned  to  March  next. 

An  international  monetary  conference  is 
opened  at  Paris,  17  June,  and  closed,  9  July  ;  the 
creation  of  a  unitary  common  coin  of  gold  is 
agreed  to,  and  all  the  governments  represented 
are  asked  to  give  a  definite  answer  to  the  proper 
.  sition  before  15  Feb.,  1868. 

President  Johnson  asks  Secretary  Stanton  to 
resign,  5  Aug.;  the  Secretary  declines,  and  the 
President  removes  him,  12,  and  appoints  Gen. 
Grant,  Secretary  of  War  pro  tent ;  Stanton  retires 
under  protest ;  the  President  gives  the  Senate 
his  reason  for  removing  the  Secretary,  12  Dec. 

The  President  issues  an  amnesty  proclamation 
which  covers  nearly  all  the  whites  of  the  Southern 
States,  7  Sep. 

A  large  number  of  American  Episcopalian 
bishops  take  part  in  a  Pan-Anglican  Synod,  held 
in  London,  24-27  Sep. 

The  King  of  Denmark  announces,  25  Oct., 
his  resolution  to  cede  the  islands  of  St.  Thomas 
and  St.  John,  in  the  West  Indies,  to  the  U.  S. 

The  national  expenses  for  the  year  are  $357,- 
542,675  ;  the  debt  is  12,692,199,215 ;  the  imports 
$417,831,571  ;  and  the  exports,  $440,722,228. 
1868.  The  Senate  refuses  to  approve  of  the  Presi- 
dent's suspension  of  Secretary  Stanton,  13  Jan., 
and  it  thereby  becomes  void  ;  Gen.  Grant  imme- 
diately vacates  the  office  and  Mr.  Stanton  takes 
possession;  on  21  Feb.  the  President  again 
removes  Mr.  Stanton  and  appoints  Adjutant- 
General  Lorenzo  Thomas,  U.  S.  A.,  Secretary 
ad  interim  ;  the  President  notifies  the  Senate, 
and  Mr.  Stanton  the  House,  of  the  action  the 
same  day;  Mr.  Stanton  refuses  to  vacate  the 
office,  and  has  Gen.  Thomas  arrested,  22  ;  the 
House  resolves,  22,  by  a  vote  of  126  to  47,  that 


300  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Andrew  Johnson  be  impeached  of  high  crimes 
and  misdemeanors  ;  Messrs.  Thaddeus  Stevens, 
Penna.;  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Mass.;  John  A. 
Bingham,  Ohio;  George  S.  Boutwell,  Mass.; 
James  F.  Wilson,  Iowa ;  Thomas  Williams, 
Penna.;  and  John  A.  Logan,  Ills.,  are  appointed 
managers,  on  the  part  of  the  House,  Mr.  Butler 
being  selected  as  chief  prosecutor,  29 ;  the  arti- 
cles of  impeachment  are  accepted  by  the  House, 
1  March;  the  Senate  organizes  as  a  high  court 
of  impeachment,  with  Chief  Justice  Chase  pre- 
siding, 5  ;  the  President  is  summoned  to  the  bar, 
7,  and  appears  by  counsel,  13 ;  ten  days  are 
granted  to  prepare  an  answer  to  the  indictment : 
the  House  denies  every  averment  in  the  answer, 
23,  and  the  trial  opens,  30 ;  the  examination  of 
witnesses  closes,  22  April :  the  arguments  of 
counsel  are  finished,  6  May,  and  the  entire 
Senate  votes,  26,  when  3  5  pronounce  the  Presi- 
dent guilty  and  19  not  guilty  ;  he  is  therefore 
acquitted  by  one  vote.  Mr.  Stanton  retires  from 
office  the  same  day,  and  Gen.  John  M.  Schofield 
is  appointed  and  confirmed  Secretary  of  War. 

An  Embassy  from  the  Emperor  of  China, 
headed  by  Hon.  Anson  Burlingame,  the  Ameri- 
can Minister,  reaches  San  Francisco,  31  March  ; 
after  a  short  stay  the  members  proceed  to  Wash- 
ington, via  New  York,  and  enter  upon  negotia- 
tions for  a  special  treaty,  containing  additions  to 
the  treaty  of  18  June,  1858 ;  the  new  treaty  is 
signed,  4  July,  and  ratified  by  the  Senate,  16  ; 
during  the  stay  of  the  Embassy  in  the  U.  S.,  Mr. 
Burlingame  and  the  Chinese  princes  are  the 
recipients  of  grand  ovations. 

The  National  Republican  Convention  is  held 
in  Chicago,  assembling  20  May ;  Joseph  R. 
Hawley,  of  Conn.,  is  chosen  permanent  president; 
the  platform  denounces  all  forms  of  repudiation 
of  the  national  debt,  and  condemns  the  course  of 
President  Johnson  ;  Gen.  Grant  is  nominated  for 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  301 

the  Presidency,  receiving  650  votes  ;  on  the  sixth 
ballot  for  Vice-President,  Schuyler  Colfax  is 
nominated,  receiving  522  votes. 

Congress  passes  a  bill,  12  June,  to  admit  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  and  Florida  to  representation  ;  a  bill 
to  admit  Arkansas  is  vetoed  by  the  President,  20, 
and  passed  over  the  veto. 

The  National  Democratic  Convention  is  held 
in  New  York,  convening  4  July  ;  Horatio  Sey- 
mour is  chosen  permanent  president,  6 ;  the 
platform  demands  the  immediate  restoration  to 
all  the  States  of  their  rights  in  the  Union, 
amnesty  for  all  past  political  offences,  reform  of 
abuses  in  administration,  payment  of  the  public 
debt,  and  the  subordination  of  the  military  to 
the  civil  power ;  on  the  22d  ballot,  Horatio  Sey- 
mour is  nominated  for  President,  receiving  the 
entire  vote,  317 ;  Gen.  Frank  P.  Blair  receives 
the  nomination  for  Vice-President. 

An  amnesty  proclamation  is  issued  by  the 
President,  4  July,  pardoning  all  persons  in  the 
Southern  States  except  those  under  presentment 
or  indictment  in  any  court  of  the  U.  S,  having 
competent  jurisdiction. 

Secretary  Seward  issues  a  notice  of  the  adop- 
tion of  the  i4th  Amendment  to  the  Constitution 
by  a  majority  of  the  States,  20  July. 

In  the  Presidential  election,  3  Nov.,  Grant  and 
Colfax  receive  3,015,887  popular  and  214  electoral 
votes,  and  Seymour  and  Blair  2,703,249  popular 
and  80  electoral  votes. 

Fort  Lafayette,  New  York  harbor,  is  destroyed 
by  fire,  i  Dec. 

The  President  issues  a  second  amnesty  proc- 
lamation, 25  Dec.,  declaring  unconditionally 
and  without  reservation,  a  full  pardon  and 
amnesty  to  every  person  who  participated  in  the 
late  insurrection. 

The  cotton  crop  for  the  year  yields  $250,000,  coo, 
or  190,000,000  more  than  in  1860. 


302  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

1869.  The  1 5th  Amendment  to  the  Constitution, 
giving  the  right  of  suffrage  to  all  citizens  of  the 
Republic,  without  regard  to  race,  color,  or 
previous  condition,  is  recommended  by  a  joint 
resolution  of  Congress,  26  Feb.  ;  it  is  subse- 
quently ratified  by  the  requisite  number  of  States. 

Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  is  inaugurated  eighteenth 
President  of  the  U.  S.,  4  March;  the  4ist  Con- 
gress assembles  at  noon,  the  same  day. 

The  President  recommends  and  Congress 
sanctions  the  appointment  of  a  number  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Society  of  Friends  as  Government 
agents  among  the  Indians,  April. 

During  the  month  of  June,  a  lay  vote  is  taken 
in  all  the  Methodist  Churches  in  the  U.  S.,  on 
the  long- agitated  question  of  lay  representation  ; 
the  total  vote  cast  is  about  250,000,  of  which 
170,000  are  cast  in  favor  of  the  change,  and  about 
80,000  against. 

President  Grant  appoints  Gen.  Babcock,  2 
June,  a  special  agent  to  obtain  information  con- 
cerning the  Dominican  Republic ;  on  his  return 
from  the  island,  he  renders  a  report  favorable  to 
the  project  of  annexation ;  he  is  again  sent  to  the 
island  to  assist  the  U.  S.  Commercial  Agent, 
Raymond  H.  Perry,  to  negotiate  for  the  annexa- 
tion of  the  whole  territory  of  the  Republic  to  the 
U.  S.  ;  a  treaty  for  the  annexation  of  the  terri- 
tory, and  a  convention  for  the  lease  of  the  Bay 
and  Peninsula  of  Samana  are  concluded,  29  Nov.; 
the  Senate  rejects  the  treaty  after  an  exciting 
debate. 

George  Peabody  again  lands  at  New  York,  10 
June ;  he  now  endows  the  Peabody  Museum,  at 
Salem,  Mass.,  with  $150,000;  gives  $30,000  to 
Newburyport  for  a  library ;  $30,000  to  Phillips 
Academy,  Andover ;  $20,000  to  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society ;  $20,000  to  the  Maryland 
Historical  Society  ;  $25,000  to  Kenyon  College  ; 
$10,000  to  the  Public  Library  at  Thetford,  Vt.  ; 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  303 

$60,000  to  Washington  College,  Va.  ;  and  adds 
$1,400,000  to  his  Southern  Education  Fund.  He 
leaves  for  London,  30  Sept.,  and  dies  there  4 
ilov. ;  the  funeral  services  are  held  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  12,  and  the  body  is  placed  on  the 
British  turret-steamship  Monarch  for  transporta- 
tion to  the  U.  S.,  li  Dec. 

A  great  musicaf  jubilee,  projected  by  Patrick 
S.  Gilmore,  to  commemorate  the  restoration  of 
peace  in  the  U.  S.  is  held  in  Boston,  15,  16,  17, 
18,  19  June. 

A  soldiers'  national  monument,  erected  on  the 
battlefield  of  Gettysburg,  is  dedicated,  I  July, 
Gen.  Meade,  the  hero  of  the  fight,  making  the 
address. 

A  gold  clique  in  New  York  produces  a  panic, 
24  Sept.,  by  forcing  the  price  of  gold  ;  it  sells  in 
the  morning  at  150,  and  by  noon  at  162*4  ;  the 
most  intense  excitement  prevails,  until  the 
Government  announces  that  it  will  relieve  the 
market  by  selling  gold,  when  the  price  falls  to  133. 

The  Spanish  Government  has  30  gunboats  built 
in  New  York  ;  they  are  seized  by  U.  S.  Marshals 
on  a  charge  of  being  intended  for  war  against  a 
friendly  nation,  Peru  ;  Judge  Blatchford  releases 
them,  14  Dec.,  and  18  leave  under  convoy  of  a 
Spanish  frigate,  19. 

During  the  year,  the  President  appoints  J, 
Lothrop  Motley,  U.  S.  Minister  to  Great  Britain, 
vice  Reverdy  Johnson,  recalled ;  John  Jay, 
Minister  to  Austria  ;  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  Minister 
to  Russia  ;  Gen.  Daniel  E.  Sickles,  Minister  to> 
Spain ;  and  Moses  H.  Grinnell,  Collector  of  the 
Port  of  New  York. 

1870.  Fenians  begin  congregating  in  force  at  differ- 
ent points  along  the  Canadian  border  in  New 
,  York  and  Vermont,  22  May.  The  present  cam- 
paign contemplates  a  movement  into  Wyoming 
Territory,  the  capture  of  the  cannon  and  arms  of 
the  British  expedition  against  I/ouis  Riel  and  a 


304  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

raid  on  the  eastern  frontier  between  Kingston 
and  Montreal.  President  Grant  issues  a  warning 
proclamation,  24;  over  icoo  men  gather  at  Bur- 
lington and  nearly  3000  at  St.  Albans,  Vt.;  Gen. 
O'Neill  orders  a  Fenian  advance  early  in  the 
morning,  25,  and  shortly  afterward  an  engage- 
ment occurs  at  Cook's  Corners,  St.  Armand ; 
after  an  hour's  skirmishing,  O'Neill  orders  a 
rest,  and  retires  to  a  neighboring  building  where 
he  is  arrested  by  Gen.  George  Foster,  U.  S.  Mar- 
shal ;  O'Neill  threatens  resistance,  but  Foster 
forces  him  into  a  carriage  at  the  point  of  a  pistol, 
and  drives  him  through  his  men  to  St.  Albans, 
where  he  is  lodged  in  jail.  Fighting  is  resumed, 
but  the  Fenians  are  soon  forced  to  fall  back  ;  an 
engagement  occurs  at  Trout  River,  27,  in  which 
the  invaders  are  routed.  The  subsequent  arrest 
of  the  leaders  of  both  movements  puts  an  end 
to  the  scheme. 

Admiral  David  G.  Farragut,  U.  S.  N.,  dies  at 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  15  Aug.,  aged  69  ;  the  funeral 
is  held  in  New  York,  30  Sep.  President  Grant 
and  other  distinguished  officers  of  the  army  and 
navy  participating. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Franco-Prussian 
war,  President  Grant  issues  a  neutrality  procla- 
mation, 22  Aug.  ;  recruiting  in  New  York  for  the 
French  armies,  and  the  presence  there  of  several 
French  war-vessels,  lead  him  to  issue  another,  8 
Oct.,  particularly  defining  the  duties  of  citizens 
of  a  neutral  nation. 

Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  Commander-in-chief  of 
the  Confederate  armies,  dies  at  Lexington,  Va., 
1 2  Oct. ,  aged  62  ;  the  funeral  is  held  at  Washing- 
ton and  Lee  College,  of  which  he  had  been 
president  since  1866. 

In  the  U.  S.  Senate,  Mr.  Morton  introduces  a 
resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Commissioners 
to  proceed  to  San  Domingo  and  inquire  into  all 
the  facts  bearing  on  the  question  of  annexation, 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  305 

12  Dec.  ;  in  the  House — the  same  day — Mr. 
Banks  offers  a  joint  resolution  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  commissioners  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with 
San  Domingo  for  the  acquisition  of  all  its  terri- 
tory by  the  U.  S.  ;  Mr.  Morton's  resolution  is  laid 
on  the  table,  but  is  taken  up,  20,  and,  despite 
Mr.  Sumner's  bitter  opposition,  is  passed  by  a 
vote  of  32  to  9,  30  being  absent ;  President  Grant 
appoints  Hon.  Benj.  F.  Wade,  Ohio ;  President 
A.  D.  White,  of  Cornell  University,  and  Hon.  S. 
G.  Howe,  Mass.,  commissioners  to  proceed  im- 
mediately to  San  Domingo,  and  the  U.  S.  S. 
Tennessee  is  ordered  into  commission  to  convey 
the  party  thither. 

1871.  By  Act  of  Congress,  the  income  tax  law  is 
repealed,  26  Jan. 

Sir  Edward  Thornton,  the  British  Minister  to 
the  U.  S.,  under  instructions  from  his  Govern- 
ment, proposes  to  Secretary  Fish  a  joint  commis- 
sion for  the  settlement  of  the  troubles  between 
the  U.  S.  and  Great  Britain,  growing  out  of  the 
fisheries  question,  26  Jan.  ;  Mr.  Fish  replies,  30, 
expressing  the  desire  of  the  President  that  the 
Alabama  claims  shall  also  be  discussed,  to  which 
the  Minister  assents.  The  President,  9  Feb., 
nominates  Hamilton  Fish,  Secretary  of  State ; 
Robert  C.  Schenck,  U.  S.  Minister  to  Great 
Britain  ;  E.  R.  Hoar,  Attorney-General ;  Justice 
Samuel  Nelson,  U.  S.  Supreme  Court ;  and 
George  H.  Williams,  U.  S.  Senator,  as  commis- 
sioners on  the  part  of  the  U.  S.  ;  they  are  con- 
firmed by  the  Senate,  10.  Queen  Victoria 
appoints  the  Earl  de  Grey  and  Ripon,  Sir 
Stafford  Northcote,  Sir  Edward  Thornton,  Sir 
John  A.  Macdonald,  and  Prof.  Montague  Bernard, 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain. 
The  High  Joint  Commission  begins  its  sessions  in 
Washington,  27,  L/ord  Tenterden  and  J.  Bancroft 
Davis,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  acting  as 
joint  protocolists.  A  treaty  is  signed  by  the 


306  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

commissioners,  8  May,  providing  for  the  settle- 
ment by  the  arbitration  of  a  mixed  commission 
of  all  the  questions  at  issue ;  this  treaty  is- 
promptly  ratified  by  both  governments,  and  they 
join  in  asking  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  the  King 
of  Italy,  and  the  President  of  the  Swiss  Confed- 
eration to  appoint  each  an  arbitrator.  The  Mixed 
Commission,  consisting  of  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
U.  S.  ;  Sir  Alexander  Cockburn,  Great  Britain  ; 
ex-President  Staempfli,  Switzerland  ;  Count  Sclo- 
pis,  Italy ;  and  Baron  Itajuba,  Brazil,  meets  in 
Geneva,  and  organizes  early  in  Dec.  The  British- 
American  Claims  Commission,  for  other  claims, 
is  composed  of  Russell  Gurnev,  Great  Britain ; 
Judge  J.  R.  Fraser,  U.  S.  ;  and'  Count  Corti,  of 
Italy  ;  the  tribunal  adjourns  to  15  June  next. 

A  mass-meeting  of  the  citizens  of  New  York 
is  held,  4  Sept.,  to  consider  the  mismanagement 
of  the  city  and  county  finances  and  the  exposures 
of  the  Tweed  Ring  ;  a  committee  of  seventy 
eminent  citizens  is  chosen  to  investigate  the 
frauds,  and  Charles  O' Conor  is  selected  as  legal 
adviser  ;  indictments  are  found  against  Mayor 
Hall, William  M.  Tweed,  Commissioner  of  Public 
Works,  Peter  B.  Sweeney,  Commissioner  of 
Parks,  Comptroller  Connelly,  and  others;  they 
are  arrested,  26  Oct.,  and  admitted  to  bail  ;  Con- 
nelly flees  the  country,  and  Tweed  is  again 
arrested,  15  Dec.,  on  a  charge  of  felony.  Mayor 
Hall  was  upon  trial  acquitted. 

Chicago  has  a  $1,000,000  fire,  7  Oct.  On 
the  following  evening  another  conflagration 
breaks  out,  causing  a  loss  of  250  lives  and  the 
destruction  of  17,500  buildings  ;  more  than  2ocx> 
acres  of  space  are  burned  over,  including  the 
business  part  of  the  city  ;  upward  of  98,000  are 
rendered  homeless  ;  the  total  loss  is  computed  at 
nearly  $200,000,000;  the  whole  country  and 
many  European  cities  respond  quickly  and  nobly 
to  the  cries  for  relief. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  307 

1872.  Col.  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  is  shot  in  the  Grand 
Central  Hotel  building,  New  York,  by  Edward  S. 
Stokes,  6  Jan.,  and  dies  two  days  later,  aged  37. 

Gov.  Warmouth,  of  La.,  in  his  message  to  the 
Legislature,  8  Jan.,  charges  enormous  frauds 
upon  the  House  of  Representatives  and  its 
Speaker,  Col.  Carter  ;  the  Carter  party  withdraw 
and  begin  a  movement  for  the  removal  of  Gov. 
Warmouth  and  the  seizure  of  the  State  House  ; 
the  Governor  places  all  the  military  and  police 
force  of  the  State  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
Longstreet ;  Carter  calls  upon  the  people  to  arm 
and  rally  at  the  Clay  statue,  i  J,  but  the  insurrec- 
tion is  checked  by  a  notice  from  Gen.  Emory,  U. 
S.  A.,  that  he  will  interfere  in  case  of  a  riot. 

Congress  passes  a  bill  creating  the  Yellowstone 
Valley,  in  Montana  and  Wyoming  Territories,  a 
national  park,  27  Feb. 

The  reduction  of  the  public  debt  from  i  March, 
1869,  to  i  March,  1872,  amounts  to  $363,697,000. 

The  National  Liberal  Republican  Convention 
assembles  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  i  May;  Hon.  Carl 
Schurz  is  chosen  permanent  president ;  the  plat- 
form calls  for  civil  service  reform,  a  judicious 
system  of  taxation,  and  the  speedy  resumption  of 
specie  payments ;  on  the  sixth  ballot,  Horace 
Greeley,  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  is  nominated 
for  President  ;  Gov.  B.  Gratz  Brown,  of  Mo.,  is 
elected  candidate  for  Vice-President ;  the  nomi- 
nation of  Mr.  Greeley  being  deemed  injudicious 
by  many  Republicans,  the  disaffected  ones  hold  a 
meeting  in  New  York,  30,  and  nominate  William 
P.  Groesbeck,  of  Ohio,  for  President,  and  Fred- 
erick L.  Olmstead,  of  N.  Y.,  for  Vice-President. 

James  Gordon  Bennett,  founder  and  proprietor 
of  the  New  York  Herald,  dies,  i  June,  aged  77. 

The  regular  National  Republican  Convention 
assembles  in  Philadelphia,  5  June  ;  Hon.  Thomas 
Settle,  of  N.  C. ,  is  chosen  permanent  president ; 
the  platform  insists  on  the  most  complete  equality 


308  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

in  the  enjoyment  of  civil,  political,  and  public 
rights,  and  that  Congress  and  the  President  have 
fulfilled  an  imperative  duty  in  their  measures  to 
suppress  the  treasonable  organizations  in  the 
lately  rebellious  States ;  President  Grant  is  re- 
nominated  by  acclamation ;  and  on  the  first 
ballot,  Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  of  Mass,  is  elected 
candidate  for  Vice-President. 

The  Geneva  Tribunal  reassembles,  15  June  ;  it 
holds  its  final  session,  14  Sept.,  when  its  decision 
is  rendered,  awarding  the  U.  S.  $15,500,000  in 
liquidation  of  the  Alabama  claims  and  those 
arising  from  the  depredations  of  other  Anglo- 
Confederate  vessels. 

The  National  Democratic  Convention  is  held 
in  Baltimore,  6  July  ;  Hon.  James  R.  Doolittle,  of 
Wis.,  is  chosen  permanent  president;  the  con- 
vention adopts  the  Liberal  Republican  platform, 
and  nominates  Messrs.  Greeley  and  Brown.  The 
Extreme  Democrats  hold  a  convention  in  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  3  Sept,  and  nominate  Charles 
O'Conor,  of  N.  Y.,  for  President,  and  John  Quincy 
Adams,  of  Mass. ,  for  Vice-President ;  both  candi- 
dates subsequently  refuse  to  serve. 

Hon.  William  H.  Seward  dies  at  Auburn,  N. 
Y.,  10  Oct.,  aged  70. 

The  Presidential  election  takes  place,  5  Nov. ; 
Grant  and  Wilson  receive  3,592,984  popular  and 
300  electoral  votes,  and  Greeley  and  Brown,  2,- 
£33.847  popular,  equal  to  74  electoral  votes. 

Gen.  George  G.  Meade,  the  hero  of  Gettys- 
burg, dies,  6  Nov.,  aged  56. 

Boston  is  visited  by  a  conflagration,  9  Nov., 
which  burns  over  60  acres  of  ground,  and  destroys 
property  of  an  estimated  value  of  $75,000,000. 

Horace  Greeley  dies  in  a  private  insane  retreat, 
29  Nov.,  aged  61. 

Edwin  Forrest,  the   great  tragedian,    dies  in 
Philadelphia,  12  Dec.,  aged  66. 
1873.  William  M.  Tweed  is  placed  on  trial  on  an 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  309 

indictment  for  violation  of  duty  in  auditing 
fraudulent  claims  against  the  city  of  New  York, 
8  Jan.;  the  jury  fails  to  agree,  30;  a  second  trial 
opens,  13  Nov.,  and  ,he  is  found  guilty  on  204 
counts,  19 ;  Judge  Davis  sentences  him  to  12 
years  imprisonment  on  Blackwell's  Island  and  to- 
pay  a  fine  of  $12,705. 

Congress  passes  a  bill  to  abolish  the  franking 
privilege,  22  Jan.,  to  take  effect  i  July. 

An  amendment  to  the  appropriation  bill,  offered 
by  Mr.  B.  F.  Butler,  providing  that  on  and  after 
4  March,  the  President  shall  receive  a  salary  of 
$50,000  per  annum  ;  the  Vice-President,  $10,000; 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court, 
$10,500;  the  Associate  Justices,  each,  $10,000; 
the  Cabinet  Officers,  each,  $10,000 ;  the  Speaker 
of  the  House,  $10,000 :  and  the  Senators,  Repre- 
sentatives and  Delegates,  including  those  of  the 
42d  Congress,  each,  $7500;  besides  the  actual 
expense  of  travel  from  residence  to  Washington 
at  the  beginning  and  close  of  each  session,  is 
adopted  in  the  House,  24  Feb.  and  the  Senate,  i 
March. 

A  political  riot  breaks  out  in  New  Orleans,  i 
March,  and  the  police  and  military  fire  upon  the 
rioters  in  Jackson  Square. 

Gen.  Grant  is  again  inaugurated  President,  4 
March  ;  he  selects  his  second  cabinet  as  follows  : 
Secretary  of  State,  Hamilton  Fish  ;  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  William  A.  Richardson  ;  Secretary 
of  War,  William  W.  Belknap  ;  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  George  M.  Robeson ;  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  Columbus  Delano ;  Postmaster- General, 
John  A.  J.  Creswell  ;  and  Attorney-General, 
George  H.  Williams. 

The  White  Star  Steamer  Atlantic  strikes  upon 
Marr's  Rock,  off  Nova  Scotia,  at  an  early  hour, 
I  April,  and  becomes  a  total  wreck  ;  of  the  large 
number  of  passengers,  officers,  and  crew  on 
board  at  the  time,  429  are  saved  and  547  lost. 


310  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

During  a  peace  talk  in  the  lava  beds  of  Oregon 
between  a  number  of  Modoc  Chiefs  and  the  U. 
S.  Commissioners,  u  April,  the  Indians,  under 
Captain  Jack,  suddenly  attacked  the  Commission- 
ers, kill  Gen.  E.  R.  S.  Candy,  U.  S.  A.,  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  (Commissioner),  and  seriously 
•wound  Commissioner  Meacham  ;  a  military  ex- 
pedition is  sent  against  the  Indians  and  the 
leaders  are  captured ;  Captain  Jack,  Black  Jim, 
Boston  Charley,  and  Schonchin  are  hanged  at 
Fort  Klamath,  Ore.,  3  Oct. 

Chief  Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase  dies  sud- 
denly in  New  York,  7  May,  aged  65  ;  Congress 
holds  funeral  ceremonies  over  the  remains  in  the 
Senate  Chamber,  n. 

Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  bankers  of  New  York,  fail, 
18  Sep.,  with  heavy  liabilities  ;  a  financial  panic 
is  precipitated  ;  the  New  York  Clearing  House  is 
forced  to  suspend  ;  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
comes  to  the  aid  of  the  banks  by  purchasing  gov- 
ernment bonds  ;  the  presidents  of  all  the  banks 
meet  in  council  to  devise  ways  of  relief.  Presi- 
dent Grant  comes  to  the  city,  but  declines  to 
accede  to  the  bankers'  request  to  aid  the  banks 
•with  the  Treasury  balance  of  144,000,000 ;  runs 
are  made  on  banks  and  private  bankers,  and 
many  strong  houses  fall  during  the  ensuing  ten 
days. 

The  Evangelical  Alliance  of  the  World,  on  the 
invitation  of  the  American  branch,  holds  a  ses- 
sion in  New  York,  1-12  Oct.;  the  distinguished 
foreign  delegates  are  received  by  the  President, 
15- 

The  Cuban  war-steamer  Virginius,  under  com- 
mand of  Capt.  James  Fry,  which  left  New  York 
for  Cuba,  8  Oct.,  is  captured  by  the  Spanish 
steamer  Tornado,  31 ;  the  officers  and  175  volun- 
teers are  taken  to  Santiago  de  Cuba,  where  Gen. 
W.  A.  C.  Ryan,  Bernabe  Varona,  Pedro  Cespedes, 
and  Jesus  del  Sel  are  tried,  convicted,  and  shot 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  311 

for  piracy,  4  Nov.;  Capt.  Fry  and  36  of  the  crew 
are  shot,  7  ;  12  more  suffer  the  same  fate,  8 ;  and 
57,  10 ;  the  news  of  the  capture  produces  great 
rejoicing  in  Havana  and  intense  indignation  in 
the  U.  S.  The  Government  puts  a  strong  naval 
force  into  commission,  whereupon  Spain  agrees 
to  surrender  the  Virginius  and  the  remainder  of 
her  crew  ;  this  is  done,  16  Dec.,  and  while  the 
vessel  is  being  conveyed  to  New  York,  she  sud- 
denly sinks  off  North  Carolina  ;  the  survivors  are 
given  a  great  reception  by  their  compatriots 
upon  their  return. 

The  French  steamship  Ville  du  Havre,  with  a 
large  passenger  list  from  New  York,  collides 
with  the  British  ship  Loch  Earn,  23  Nov.,  and 
sinking,  carries  down  226  persons. 

Prof.  Louis  J.  R.  Agassiz,  the  eminent  scientist, 
dies  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  14  Dec.,  aged  67. 
1874.    Hon.   Morrison   R.  Waite  is  appointed  and 
confirmed  Chief  Justice  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme 
Court,  21  Jan. 

Ex-President  Millard  Fillmore  dies  at  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  8  March,  aged  74. 

Hon.  Charles  Sumner  dies  at  his  residence  in 
"Washington,  n  March,  aged  63,  after  enjoining 
Senator  Hoar  not  to  let  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  fail ; 
funeral  ceremonies  are  held  in  the  National  Capi- 
tal and  at  the  State  House,  Boston. 

Little  Charley  Ross  is  mysteriously  abducted 
from  his  father's  residence  in  Germantown, 
Penna.,i  July  ;  his  father  spends  a  large  fortune 
searching  for  the  missing  boy,  but  never  learns 
of  his  fate. 

An  immense  number  of  the  citizens  of  New 
Orleans  assemble  around  the  Clay  statue,  14 
Sep. ;  a  committee  is  appointed  to  request  Gov. 
Kellogg  to  abdicate  ;  upon  his  refusal,  the  White 
League  troops  are  posted  about  the  city,  and  the 
metropolitan  police  and  the  State  troops  are 
marched  into  line  of  battle ;  the  White  Leaguers 


312  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

attack  the  police,  driving  them  through  the 
Custom  House,  in  which  Gov.  Kellogg,  Collector 
Casey,  and  other  officers  have  taken  refuge  ;  on 
the  following  morning,  the  White  League 
pickets  find  the  Capitcl  abandoned  and  take  pos- 
session. On  orders  from  Washington,  Gen. 
Emory,  U.  S.  A.,  takes  possession  of  all  the  cap- 
tured property,  and  notifies  Gov.  Kellogg,  18, 
that  he  is  prepared  to  restore  him  to  his  office. 

John  D.  Lee,  the  leader  of  the  Mormons  in  the 
Mountain  Meadow  massacre,  in  1857,  is  captured, 
i  Nov.;  he  is  lodged  in  jail  at  Beaver,  Utah,  and 
indicted  for  murder. 

Hon.  Ezra  Cornell,  founder  of  Cornell  Univer- 
sity, at  Ithaca,  N.  Y.  (cost  $700,000),  dies,  9  Dec., 
aged  67. 

James  Lick,  of  San  Francisco,  deeds  his  immense 
estate  to  a  board  of  trustees,  and  charges  them 
to  devote  $700,000  to  the  erection  of  an  observa- 
tory ;  $300,000  to  found  and  endow  the  California 
School  of  Mechanical  Arts  ;  $250,000  to  the  erec- 
tion of  a  group  of  bronze  statuary,  representing 
the  history  of  the  State  ;  $100,000  to  the  building 
of  an  Old  Ladies'  Home  in  San  Francisco ; 
$150,000  to  the  building  and  maintenance  of  free 
baths ;  $150,000  to  the  erection  of  a  bronze  monu- 
ment to  Key,  the  author  of  the  "  Star  Spangled 
Banner ; "  $25,000  in  gold  to  the  Protestant 
Orphan  Home,  San  Francisco  ;  $25,000  to  found 
an  Orphan  Home  in  San  Jose  ;  and  $10,000  to 
the  purchase  of  scientific  works  for  the  Me- 
chanics' Institute,  San  Francisco. 

The  national  expenses  for  the  year  are  $287,- 
133,873;  the  debt  is  $2,251,690,468  ;  the  imports 
a1"6  |595«86*>248  ;  and  the  exports,  $693,039,054. 
1875.  The  State  House  at  New  Orleans  is  guarded 
by  police  early  in  the  morning  of  4  Jan.,  the  day 
appointed  for  the  opening  of  the  Louisiana  Legis- 
lature. The  Democrats  charge  frauds  upon  the 
Returning  Board,  and  the  Republicans  charge 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  313 

intimidation  upon  the  Democrats ;  Mr.  Wiltz  is 
chosen  chairman,  against  the  protests  of  the  Re- 
publicans, who  attempt  to  withdraw,  but  are 
prevented  ;  in  the  afternoon,  Gen.  De  Trobriand 
enters  the  House  with  U.  S.  troops,  and  Mr. 
Wiltz  and  several  members,  who  claim  to  have 
been  irregularly  seated,  are  taken  into  custody 
and  marched  out  of  the  Hall ;  the  Democratic 
members  then  withdraw  and  the  Republicans 
proceed  to  effect  an  organization  ;  in  the  mean- 
time, a  second  Congressional  Committee,  consist- 
ing of  George  F.  Hoar,  William  A.  Wheeler, 
William  P.  Frye,  and  Samuel  P.  Marshall,  is 
sent  to  New  Orleans,  2  Jan.  Mr.  Wheeler  pro- 
poses a  plan  for  adjusting  the  difficulties,  to  the 
effect  that  the  Assembly  will  not  disturb  the  State 
Government,  but  accord  Gov.  Kellogg  all  legiti- 
mate support,  and  that  the  House  as  constituted 
on  the  award  of  the  committee  shall  not  be 
changed ;  the  plan  is  accepted,  twelve  members 
excluded  by  the  Returning  Board  are  admitted, 
a  conservative  Speaker  is  chosen,  and  both 
branches  of  the  legislature  proceed  to  work. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden  is  inaugurated  Governor  of 
New  York,  and  pledges  himself  to  an  administra- 
tion of  reform,  Jan. 

Senator  Sherman's  Bill,  providing  for  the  re- 
sumption of  specie  payments  on  i  Jan.,  1879,  ^ 
passed  in  both  Houses,  and  approved  by  the 
President,  14  Jan. 

Ex-President  Andrew  Johnson  is  elected  U.  S. 
Senator  from  Tenn.,  Jan.,  and  dies,  31  July, 
aged  67. 

A  civil  suit  is  begun  against  William  M.  Tweed 
iu  New  York,  to  recover  $6,198,950,  April;  he  is 
discharged  from  his  cumulative  sentence,  22 
Tune,  and  immediately  re-arrested  and  held  to 
bail  in  $15,000  on  a  criminal  suit  and  in  $3,000,- 
ooo  on  the  civil  suit ;  he  escapes  from  the  officers 
of  the  Ludlow  Street  Jail,  while  on  a  visit  to  his 
house,  4  Dec. 


314  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Archbishop  John  McCloskey  is  invested  with 
the  berretta  of  a  Cardinal  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  in  St  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York, 
27  April. 

Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  Vice-President  of  the 
U.  S.,  dies  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  22  Nov.,  aged 
62 ;  funeral  services  are  held  in  the  rotunda  of 
the  National  Capitol  and  at  Natick,  Mass.  Hon. 
Thomas  W.  Ferry,  of  Mich.,  President/»r0  tern. 
of  the  Senate,  becomes  Acting  Vice-President 

William  B.  Astor  dies  in  New  York,  24  Nov., 
aged  83. 

Hon.  M.  C.  Kerr,  Democrat,  is  elected  Speaker 
of  the  House  at  the  epening  of  the  43d  Congress, 
6  Dec. 

1876.  The  House  of  Representatives'  Committee 
on  Expenditures  in  the  War  Department,  having 
had  its  attention  directed  to  the  alleged  abuses 
in  the  management  of  the  Post-tradership  at 
Fort  Sill,  I.  T.,  compels  the  attendance  of  Caleb 
P.  Marsh,  of  New  York,  who  had  received  the 
appointmeht  in  1870;  he  acknowledges  the  reg- 
ular payment  of  money  to  Gen.  Bel  knap,  the 
Secretary  of  War,  in  consideration  of  the  ap- 
pointment. The  Committee  summons  the  Sec- 
retary before  it  (i  March),  when  he  confesses  the 
truth  of  the  statements  ;  he  personally  tenders 
his  resignation  to  the  President,  2  March,  and  it 
is  immediately  accepted.  The  same  day  the 
Committee  ask  the  House  for  his  impeachment, 
and  a  committee  is  accordingly  appointed  and  the 
Senate  notified.  The  Secretary  is  arrested  and 
released  in  $25,000  bail,  8  March  ;  he  was  tried 
by  the  Senate  on  the  House  charges  and  his  own 
confession,  and  acquitted  by  a  vote  of  35  to  21, 
i  Aug. 

The  Centennial  Exhibition  in  Fairmount  Park, 
Philadelphia,  is  officially  opened,  10  May.  Theo- 
dore Thomas's  famous  orchestra  leads  the  cere- 
monies; Bishop  Simpson,  of  the  Methodist 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  315 

Episcopal  Church,  offers  a  prayer  ;  the  President 
of  the  Board  of  Finance  formally  presents  the 
buildings  to  the  U.  S.  Centennial  Commission, 
by  whose  President,  after  the  singing  of  Sidney 
Lanier's  Cantata,  they  are  presented  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  U.  S.,  who  declares  the  exhibition 
opened.  President  Grant  and  the  Emperor  of 
Brazil  then  start  the  gigantic  Corliss  engine,  and 
all  the  machinery  in  the  vast  place  moves.  The 
buildings  cover  a  space  of  75  acres,  and  aggregate 
190  in  number,  including  the  five  grand  struc- 
tures and  the  buildings  of  the  States  and  Terri- 
tories and  foreign  nations,  representing  a  cost  of 
$4,444,000,  of  which  $1,500,000  were  loaned  by 
the  U.  S.  Government.  The  Exhibition  closes 
10  Nov.;  it  has  been  visited  by  9,786,151  persons, 
of  whom  7,897,789  paid  $3,761,607;  the  largest 
attendance  on  any  day  was  on  28  Sept.,  when 
274,919  persons  passed  the  gates. 

A  determined  warfare  against  the  Sioux  In- 
dians is  begun  early  in  June  ;  Gen.  Crook  attacks 
them  on  Rosebud  River,  17  ;  a  camp  of  2000 
lodges  on  the  Little  Horn  is  attacked,  25,  when 
Gen.  Custer,  his  two  brothers,  a  nephew,  and 
brother-in-law,  with  305  officers  and  men  are 
killed.  Gen.  MacKenzie  surrounds  the  camp  of 
Red  Cloud  and  Red  Leaf,  capturing  the  whole 
force  without  a  shot,  23  Oct.;  the  next  day,  Gen. 
Crook  assembles  the  Indians  at  the  Red  Cloud 
agency,  deposes  Red  Cloud,  and  proclaims 
Spotted  Tail  chief  of  all  the  Sioux.  Gen.  Mac- 
Kenzie captures  a  hostile  Cheyenne  village  of 
200  lodges,  with  500  warriors,  25  Nov. 

William  Cullen  Bryant  is  presented  with  a 
memorial  vase  of  hammered  silver,  valued  at 
$5000,  by  his  friends,  in  New  York,  20  June. 

A.  H.  Wyman  is  nominated  and  confirmed  as 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  20,  29  June. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  meets  in 
St,  Louis,  28  June,  and  organizes  by  electing 


316  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Hon.  John  A.  McClernand  permanent  president ; 
Messrs.  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  N.  Y.;  Thomas  F. 
Bayard,  Del.;  William  S  Allen,  Ohio;  Judge 
Joel  Parker,  N.  J.;  and  Gen.  W.  S.  Hancock, 
U.  S.  A.,  are  proposed  for  the  Presidential  nomi- 
nation ;  on  the  first  ballot,  Mr.  Tilden  receives 
403  votes  in  a  total  of  817,  and  before  the  result 
of  the  second  ballot  is  announced,  his  nomina- 
tion is  made  unanimous.  Hon.  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  is  nominated  for  Vice- 
President. 

William  M.  Tweed,  after  his  escape  from  the 
officers  in  New  York,  goes  to  Cuba,  and  sails 
thence  in  the  Carmen,  for  Vigo,  Spain,  27  July  ; 
on  entering  the  harbor  of  Vigo,  the  Carmen  is 
boarded  by  the  Governor,  6  Sep.,  and  Tweed  is 
arrested ;  the  Spanish  Government  agrees  to 
return  him  to  the  U.  S.  without  the  usual  formali- 
ties, and  he  sails  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Franklin,  then 
homeward  bound,  26 ;  he  arrives  in  New  York, 
23  Nov.,  and  is  at  once  lodged  in  jail;  in  the 
meantime,  Sheriff  Brennan  is  punished  for  ne- 
glect in  permitting  the  escape. 

Colorado  is  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State, 
4  July;  John  L.  Routt,  its  first  Territorial  Gover- 
nor, is  elected  first  Governor  of  the  State,  Oct. 

The  Secretary  of  War,  upon  the  order  of  the 
President,  instructs  Gen.  Sherman  to  dispose  of 
the  available  troops  in  such  a  manner  as'to  pre- 
vent and  punish  fraud  at  the  polls  on  election 
day,  15  Aug. 

The  President  declares  South  Carolina  to  be  in  a 
state  of  insurrection,  and  orders  troops  sent  there 
to  preserve  the  peace  at  the  elections,  17  Oct. 

The  State  and  National  elections  are  the  most 
exciting  of  any  ever  held.  Federal  troops  are 
plentifully  scattered  throughout  the  Southern 
States,  and  strong  forces  are  congregated  in 
Washington,  D.  C.  and  in  New  York  City.  In 
South  Carolina,  Gen.  Wade  Hampton,  Democrat, 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  317 

and  Daniel  H.  Chamberlain,  Republican,  are  de- 
clared elected  Governor,  and  both  are  sworn  in 
as  such  ;  the  State  has  a  dual  Legislature,  with 
two  speakers  trying  to  preside  at  the  same  time, 
and  the  members  of  its  Returning  Board  are 
arrested  and  committed  to  the  Columbia  jail.  In 
Louisiana,  both  political  parties  invite  prominent 
gentlemen  of  the  North,  and  the  President  sends 
a  committee  to  witness  the  counting  of  the  votes 
by  the  Returning  Board;  while  another  Presi- 
dential Committee  is  appointed  for  a  like  service 
in  Florida.  The  popular  vote  in  the  Presidential 
election,  7  Nov.,  according  to  the  official  returns, 
is  :  Tilden,  4,284,265  ;  Hayes,  4,033,295  ;  Cooper, 
81,747;  Smith,  9522  ;  giving  Mr.  Tilden  a  popular 
majority  over  all  others  of  157,397  votes.  The  Re- 
turning Boards  give  Mr.  Hayes  185  electoral  votes, 
and  Mr.  Tilden  184 ;  the  votes  of  Florida,  Louisi- 
ana, and  South  Carolina,  given  to  the  Republi- 
cans, are  disputed  by  the  Democrats.  The  year 
closes  on  the  greatest  political  tension  ever 
known  in  the  country,  with  the  leaders  of  both 
parties  urging  forbearance. 

Congress  meets,  4  Dec. ;  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Randall, 
Penna.,  is  elected  Speaker  of  the  House  over  Hon. 
James  G.  Elaine  ;  a  number  of  bills  proposing  a 
more  satisfactory  method  of  counting  the  electo- 
ral votes  for  President  and  Vice- President  are  in- 
troduced in  both  Houses,  but  there  is  an  aversion 
to  action  until  the  Visiting  Committees  return 
from  the  South  and  report. 

During  a  performance  of  "  The  Two  Orphans  " 
in  the  Brooklyn  (N.  Y.)  Theatre,  5  Dec.,  a  fire 
breaks  out  on  the  stage ;  a  terrific  panic  is 

.  created  :  the  building  is  entirely  destroyed,  and 
over  300  persons  lose  their  lives  by  burning,  suffo- 
cation, or  being  crushed  in  the  stampede  ;  the 
remains  of  100  unrecognized  bodies  are  buried  in 
one  large  grave  in  Greenwood  Cemetery. 

1877.  Commodore  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  dies  at  his 
residence  in  New  York,  4  Jan.,  aged  82. 


318  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Messrs.  Nicholls  (Dem.)  and  Packard  (Rep.)  are 
each  inaugurated  Governor  of  Louisiana,  at  New 
Orleans,  8  Jan.;  the  Democrats  gain  possession 
of  all  the  public  buildings  except  the  State  House, 
9,  and  during  that  week  the  Democratic  Legisla- 
ture gains  large  accessions  from  the  Republican 
body.  In  accordance  with  President  Hayes's 
"Southern  Policy,"  the  U.S.  troops  are  officially 
withdrawn  from  service  in  the  city,  24  April. 

Both  parties  in  Congress  compromise,  in  the 
matter  of  the  disputed  electoral  returns,  in  an 
arrangement  which  takes  shape  in  a  bill  provid- 
ing for  the  appointment  of  an  Electoral  Commis- 
sion, which  decides  in  favor  of  the  Republicans. 

President  Hayes  appoints  Frederick  Douglass, 
the  well-known  colored  orator,  U.  S.  Marshal 
for  the  District  of  Columbia,  19  March. 

John  D.  Lee,  convicted  for  complicity  in  the 
Mountain  Meadow  messacre  of  emigrants  by 
Mormons,  is  executed  by  shooting  on  the  scene 
of  the  tragedy,  23  March. 

After  a  conference  with  Gen.  Wade  Hampton 
and  David  H.  Chamberlain,  both  claiming  to  have 
been  legally  elected  Governor  of  South  Carolina, 
the  President  orders  the  withdrawal  of  U.  S.  troops 
from  Columbia,  2  April ;  the  troops  march  out 
of  the  city,  10,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain  surrenders 
the  Governor's  office  and  the  papers  to  General 
Hampton. 

Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  accompanied  by  his  wife 
and  one  son,  leaves  Philadelphia  for  an  extended 
tour  17  May.  He  is  received  with  honor  every- 
where. 

The  business  centre  of  Galveston,  Texas,  is  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  8  June,  involving  a  loss  of  $i,- 
525,000. 

Right  Rev.  Bishop  Littlejohn  lays  the  corner- 
stone of  the  Cathedral  of  the  Incarnation,  a 
memorial  of  the  late  A.  T.  Stewart,  at  Garden 
City,  L.  I.,  28  June. 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  319 

In  consequence  of  a  reduction  of  10  per  cent 
in  wages,  the  engineers,  firemen,  conductors, 
brakemen,  switchmen,  and  other  employes  of 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  go  on  a  strike, 
i  July  ;  by  the  close  of  the  week,  the  strike  ex- 
tends to  the  New  York  &  Erie,  the  Pittsburg, 
Fort  Wayne  &  Chicago,  the  Pittsburg,  Cin- 
cinnati &  St.  Louis,  the  Pan-Handle,  and  Penn- 
sylvania Central  Railroads.  State  troops  are 
called  out  in  Maryland,  Ohio,  West  Virginia, 
and  Pennsylvania,  and  Federal  troops  in  West 
Virginia.  Engagements  between  the  strikers 
and  their  friends  and  the  soldiers  occur  in  Balti- 
more, 20,  in  which  several  persons  are  killed  and 
a  large  number  wounded,  and  at  Martinsburg, 
West  Va.  In  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  the  troops  have 
encounters,  17  and  21  ;  on  the  latter  day,  the 
strikers  capture  a  car  filled  with  coke,  saturate 
the  mass  with  petroleum,  and  igniting  it,  push 
the  car  to  the  Round  House,  which  soon  becomes 
a  mass  of  flames  with  all  its  contents  ;  between 
200  and  300  lives  are  lost  at  Pittsburg,  125  loco- 
motives are  destroyed,  and  3500  cars  are  burned. 
Bloody  riots  occur  in  Chicago,  25,  26,  that  of  the 
second  day  being  a  pitched  battle  in  which  artil- 
lery is  freely  used.  By  the  close  of  the  second 
week,  the  strike  extends  to  all  the  northern 
roads,  and  six  States  are  under  arms,  the  troops 
being  used  in  protecting  property  and  attempting 
to  move  trains.  During  the  second  week,  the 
backbone  of  the  strike  is  broken,  and  compro- 
mises between  the  railroad  officials  and  the  dis- 
affected employes  lead  to  a  gradual  reopening  of 
traffic,  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops,  and  the 
return  of  84,000  railroad  men  to  duty.  The 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  suffered  more  severely 
than  any  other,  its  losses  at  Pittsburg  alone  ag- 
gregating $12,000,000,  for  which  it  subsequently 
sues  the  county. 

Brigham  Young,  President  of  the  Church  of 


320  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints,  dies  at  Salt 
Lake  City,  Utah,  29  August,  aged  76. 

1878.  Samuel   Bowles,  for  many  years  editor  and 
proprietor  of  the  Springfield  (Mass.)  Republican , 
dies,  1 6  Jan.,  after  a  lingering  illness. 

The  U.  S.  Senate,  after  rejecting  the  free 
coinage  clause  and  providing  for  a  conference  of 
the  Latin  Union  States  to  fix  a  common  ratio 
between  the  values  of  gold  and  silver,  passes  the 
Bland  Silver  Bill,  16  Feb  ;  the  House  concurs  in 
the  amendments,  2 1 ;  the  President  vetoes  the  bill, 
and  both  Houses  pass  it  over  the  veto. 

William  M.  Tweed  dies  in  Ludlow  Street  Jail, 
New  York,  12  April. 

A  bill  to  repeal  the  bankrupt  law  passes  the 
House,  25  April,  by  a  vote  of  206  to  39,  and  the 
Senate,  10  May,  by  a  majority  of  5;  the  bill  takes 
effect,,  i  Sept. 

Thomas  A.  Edison,  announces  that  he  has 
at  length  discovered  a  method  of  dividing  the 
electric  current  and  its  light  indefinitely,  and 
has  perfected  a  practical  system  for  lighting 
dwellings  and  public  buildings  by  means  of  this 
current. 

1879.  The  Hon.  Morton  McMichael,  of  Philadelphia, 
"father  of  Fairmount  Park,"  and  editor  of  the 
North  American,  dies,  6  Jan.,  aged  72. 

A  bill  providing  for  the  payment  of  arrears  of 
pensions,  having  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress, 
is  signed  by  the  President,  25  Jan. ;  the  lowest 
estimate  of  the  amount  required  to  pay  all  claims 
tinder  it  is  $80,000,000. 

A  bill  to  restrict  the  immigration  of  Chinese  to 
the  U.  S.,  by  making  it  unlawful  for  the  master 
of  any  vessel  to  bring  to  this  country  more  than 
fifteen  Chinese  passengers,  which  has  passed  the 
House  after  a  heated  debate,  is  passed  in  the 
Senate,  15  Feb.,  by  a  vote  of  39  to  27;  the  Presi- 
dent vetoes  the  bill,  i  March,  and  Congress  fails 
to  pass  it  over  the  veto.  During  the  debate  in 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  321 

the  Senate,  14,  Senator  B.  K.  Bruce  occupies  the 
chair,  being  the  first  colored  man  who  sat  offi- 
cially in  the  seat  of  the  Vice-President  of  the 
U.S. 

Congress  meets  in  extra  session,  18  March. 

Gen.  John  A.  Dix  dies  at  his  residence  in  New 
York,  21  April,  aged  81. 

Both  Houses  of  Congress  pass  a  bill  prohibiting 
the  use  of  federal  troops  on  election  days,  May  ; 
the  President  vetoes  it  as  conflicting  with  his 
constitutional  prerogatives  and  as  nullifying  the 
laws- of  1792;  the  bill  fails  to  pass  the  veto. 

Henry  C.  Carey,  the  foremost  American  polit- 
ical economist,  dies  at  Philadelphia,  13  Oct., 
aged  86. 

Maj.-Gen.  Joseph  Hooker,  U.  S.  A.,  dies  sud- 
denly at  Garden  City,  I,.  L,  32  Oct.,  aged  64. 

Hon.  Zachariah  Chandler,  U.  S.  Senator  from 
Michigan,  is  found  dead  in  bed  in  a  hotel  in 
Chicago,  i  Nov.,  aged  66. 

1880.  Contrary  to  general  expectation,  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Maine  is  organized  at  Augusta,  7  Jan., 
without  bloodshed,  but  not  without  scenes  of 
great  excitement.  Gen.  Chamberlain  assumes 
control  of  all  the  public  property  and  institu- 
tions, 9,  promising  to  hold  them  for  the  people 
until  Governor  Garcelon's  successor  is  legally 
elected  and  qualified. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  meets 
in  Chicago,  2  June ;  Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  of 
"Mass.,  is  chosen  permanent  president.  The 
platform  is  adopted,  5,  and  the  first  ballot  for  a 
presidential  candidate  is  taken,  7,  with  the  fol- 
lowing result :  U.  S.  Grant,  304 ;  James  G. 
Elaine,  284;  John  Sherman,  93;  George  F. 
Edmunds,  34;  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  30;  and 
William  Windom,  10.  The  36th  and  final  ballot 
is  taken,  8,  when  Gen.  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio, 
is  nominated,  he  receiving  399  votes  to  307  for 
Grant,  42  for  Blaine,  3  for  Sherman,  and  5  for 


322  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Washburne.  Gen.  Chester  A.  Arthur,  of  New 
York,  is  nominated  for  Vice-President  on  the 
first  ballot. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  assem- 
bles in  Cincinnati,  22  June.  The  New  York 
delegation  present  a  letter  from  Samuel  J. 
Tilden,  positively  declining  to  allow  the  use  of 
his  name  in  connection  with  the  Presidential 
nomination.  Hon.  John  W.  Stevenson  is  elected 
permanent  president,  and  the  Tammany  Hall 
delegation  from  New  York  are  rejected.  On  the 
third  ballot,  24,  Gen.  Wiufield  S.  Hancock, 
U.  S.  A.,  is  nominated  for  President,  receiving 
705  out  of  738  votes,  and  Hon.  William  H. 
English,  of  Ind.,  is  nominated  forVice-President 
on  the  first  ballot 

The  Presidential  election  takes  place  2  Nov. ; 
the  returns  show  a  popular  Republican  vote  of 
4,459,921;  Democratic,  4,447,888;  Greenback, 
307,740 ;  and  Prohibition,  10,305  ;  the  electoral 
votes  are:  Republican,  214;  Democratic,  155. 

Postmaster- General  James  begins  an  investiga- 
tion into  the  alleged  "  Star-Route"  frauds  in  the 
conveyance  of  the  mails,  March.  He  issues  an 
order  forbidding  any  increase  of  service  or  com- 
pensation on  any  of  the  mail  routes  without  his 
sanction,  depriving  his  assistants  of  the  power  of 
granting  increases  at  discretion.  The  publication 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  Star-Route  service 
has  been  "  expedited  "  creates  a  great  sensation, 
Gen.  Thomas  J.  Brady,  Second  Assistant  Post- 
master-General, under  these  exposures,  resigns, 
20  April ;  J.  Iy.  French,  one  of  his  clerks,  is 
removed,  26;  and  Mr.  McGrew,  the  Sixth 
Auditor  of  the  Treasury  Department,  who  has 
had  charge  of  the  Post  Office  accounts,  resigns, 
2  June;  the  prosecution  of  the  Star-Route  case 
is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Attorney-General, 
who  is  assisted  by  \V.  A.  Cook,  of  Washington, 
D.  C.,  Benj.  H.  Brewster,  of  Philadelphia,  and 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  323 

(after  the  accession  of  President  Arthur)  George 
Bliss,  of  New  York  ;  the  case  is  dismissed  by 
Judge  Cox,  10  Nov.,  on  the  ground  that  the  pro- 
ceeding by  information  cannot  be  sustained. 

Prof.  Henry  Youle  Hind,  of  Windsor,  N.  S., 
an  authority  on  the  subject  of  the  Canadian  fish- 
eries, creates  an  excitement,  April,  by  appealing 
to  the  British  Foreign  Office  for  permission  to 
substantiate  his  charge  of  fraud  and  forgery  pre- 
ferred against  the  Canadian  officials  who  pre- 
pared the  Canadian  statistics  on  which  the  Hali- 
fax Fishery  Commission  made  the  award  of 
$5,500,000  against  the  U.  S. 

Charles  J.  Guiteau,  a  disappointed  office-seeker, 
attempts  to  "remo™*"  President  Garfield  by 
assassination,  in  the  waiting-room  of  the  Balti- 
more &  Potomac  Railroad  Depot  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C  As  the  President  is  about  taking  the 
cars  to  spend  a  few  days  with  his  sick  wife  at 
Ix>ng  Branch,  N.  J.,  2  July,  Guiteau  fires  two 
shots  at  him,  one  of  which  takes  effect;  he  is  im- 
mediately arrested  and  lodged  in  the  District 
Jail ;  and  letters  found  in  his  pockets  show  that 
he  has  premeditated  the  murder  of  the  President. 
The  wounded  President  is  removed  to  the  White 
House,  and  several  physicians  and  surgeons 
make  an  examination  of  his  injuries  and  pro- 
nounce them  liable  to  terminate  fatally  within  a 
few  hours.  The  intelligence  produces  consterna- 
tion throughout  the  country,  and  all  preparations 
for  the  celebration  of  the  4th  of  July  are  aban- 
doned. The  surgeons  in  attendance  are :  Drs.  D. 
W.  Bliss,  J.  K.  Barnes,  J.  J.  Woodward  and 
Robert  Reyburn,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  the  chief 
nurse  is  Mrs.  Dr.  Edson,  of  the  same  city ;  and 
Drs.  Hayes  Agnew,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Frank 
H.  Hamilton,  of  New  York,  are  summoned  as 
consulting  surgeons.  Amidst  the  prayers  of 
Christendom  for  his  recovery,  the  condition  of 
the  President  improves  and  relapses  by  turns 


324  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

until  the  close  of  August,  when  it  is  determined 
to  remove  him  from  the  malarial  influences  of 
the  national  capital  to  the  ocean-purified  shore 
of  Long  Branch.  A  special  train  is  prepared 
and  the  journey  is  made,  6  Sep.,  the  distance  be- 
ing covered  in  about  7  hours,  or  at  the  rate  of  55 
miles  per  hour.  He  stands  the  transit  well,  and 
becomes  cheerful  when  placed  in  a  room  in  the 
Francklyn  Cottage  facing  the  ocean.  While  ap- 
parently recovering  with  rapidity,  he  is  suddenly 
seized  with  chills,  16,  which  last  until  the  morn- 
ing of  19,  when  even  the  confident  Bliss  abandons 
hope  ;  at  10  o'clock  that  night  he  awakens  from 
a  sound  slumber,  complains  of  a  severe  pain 
around  his  heart,  and  expires  10.35,  after  an  So- 
day  struggle  for  life,  in  the  soth  year  of  his  age. 
The  remains  are  taken  from  Long  Branch,  21, 
and  lie  in  state  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol  at 
Washington  until  23,  when  funeral  services  are 
held.  They  reach  Cleveland,  Ohio,  24,  and  lie 
in  state  in  a  memorial  pavilion  erected  on  Monu- 
ment Square  until  26,  when  public  funeral  cere- 
monies are  held,  and  the  body  is  temporarily 
placed  in  the  receiving  vault  of  Lake  View  Cem- 
etery. A  few  moments  after  the  death  of  the 
President,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  at  Long 
Branch  notify  Vice-President  Arthur,  in  New 
York,  of  the  erent,  and  urge  him  to  take  the  oath 
of  office  without  delay ;  this  oath  is  accordingly 
administered  to  him  at  his  residence  by  Judge 
John  R.  Brady,  between  2  and  3  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  20  Sep.  The  new  President  hastens 
to  Washington  and  makes  a  call  of  condolence 
upon  Mrs.  Garfield.  He  issues  a  proclamation 
designating  26  Sep. — the  day  of  the  funeral — as  a 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer  throughout  the 
country*. 

Guiteau,  In  his  cell,  attempts  to  murder  one 
of  his  guards,  William  McGill,  7  Aug.  He  is 
fired  at  by  one  of  his  guards,  Sergeant  John 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  325 

Mason,  13  Sep.  He  is  indicted  for  murder,  7 
Oct.,  and  brought  to  trial  before  Judge  Cox,  14 
Nov.,  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  District  of 
Columbia.  The  prosecution  is  conducted  by  U. 
S.  District  Attorney  George  B.  Corkhill  and 
George  M.  Scoyille  appears  as  counsel  for  the 
defense ;  the  trial  is  continued  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year,  resulting  in  Guiteau's  con- 
viction. 

Hon.  Ambrose  E.  Burnside,  soldier,  Governor, 
and  U.  S.  Senator,  dies  suddenly  at  Bristol,  R.  I., 
13  Sep.,  aged  57. 

1882.  Congress    passes    an    anti-Polygamy    bill, 
drafted    by     Senator     Edmunds,     oT     Vt.,     22 
March,  which  provides  for  the  punishment  of 
polygamy  by  fine  and  imprisonment  upon  con- 
viction,   and  also    for    the  disfranchisement  of 
polygamists. 

Henry  W.  Longfellow,  the  world-popular  poet 
and  man  of  letters,  dies  at  Cambridge,  Mass. ,  24 
March,  aged  75. 

Jesse  James,  the  notorious  desperado  of  the 
West,  is  killed  by  the  Ford  brothers,  at  St.  Joseph, 
Mo.,  3  April. 

Guiteau,  the  assassin  of  President  Garfield,  is 
hanged  at  Washington,  June  30. 

Philadelphia  celebrates  the  bicentennial  of  the 
Landing  of  William  Penn,  22-27  Oct. 

1883.  Hon.   Edwin  D.  Morgan,  war  Governor  of 
New  York,  dies  in  New  York  City,  14  Feb. ,  aged 
72  ;  his  will  bequeaths  $795,000  to  various  charit- 
able and  educational  institutions. 

The  Grand  Jury  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  finds 
indictments  against  Gen.  Brady  and  ex-Senator 
Kellogg,  of  La.,  for  complicity  in  the  Star- Route 
frauds,  27  March  ;  the  taking  of  evidence  in  the 
new  trial  closes,  12  April  .The  jury  bring  in  a 
verdict  of  not  guilty  as  indicted,  14. 

The  great  suspension  bridge,  spanning  the  East 


326  HAND  BOOK  'FOR 

River  from  New  York  to  Brooklyn,  is  formally 
opened,  24  May.  Designed  by  John  A.  Roebling, 
C  E.,  work  upon  it  was  begun  3  Jan.,  1870,  and 
prosecuted,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Roebling, 
under  the  direction  of  his  son  Washington  A. 
Roebling,  C.  E.  The  total  length  from  tie  City 
Hall,  New  York,  to  Sand  Street,  Brooklyn,  is 
5989  feet;  the  length  of  the  main  span  131595^ 
ft. ,  the  towers  are  276^  feet  high,  and  the  floor 
of  the  bridge  at  the  centre  is  I35_feet  above  high- 
water  mark  ;  each  cable  is  15^  inches  in  diame- 
ter and  is  composed  of  5000  wires  each  one- 
eighth  inch  in  diameter ;  the  total  cost  is  about 
$15,500,000,  which  is  borne  equally  by  the  two 
cities. 

At  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year,  30  June,  there 
are  303,658  pensioners  on  the  Government  rolls, 
of  whom  198,648  are  army  invalids,  74,374  army 
widows,  minor  children,  and  dependent  relatives, 
2468  navy  invalids,  1907  navy  widows,  minor 
children,  and  dependent  relatives,  4831  survivors 
of  the  war  of  1812,  and  21,336  widows  of  men  who 
served  in  that  war ;  the  amount  of  all  the  pen- 
sions is  $32,245, 192.43 ;  the  total  amount  paid  on 
pension  account  during  the  fiscal  year  was  $60,- 
064,009.23,  nearly  one-half  of  which  was  for 
arrears.  The  reduction  in  the  interest-bearing 
debt  during  the  year  is  $125, 581 ,250,  which  secures 
a  permanent  annual  reduction  in  the  interest 
charge  of  $5,923,401 ;  the  annual  charge  on 
interest  account  is  now  $51,436,709,3  reduction 
of  $99,541,291  in  1 8  years,  during  which  the  prin- 
cipal of  the  debt  has  been  reduced  $1,205,340,364. 
The  total  coinage  at  the  Philadelphia  Mint  dur- 
ing the  year  amounts  to  80,691,282  pieces,  valued 
at  $21,483,759. 

Dr.  J.   Marion  Sims,  the  great    surgeon   and 
founder  of  the  Women's  Hospital  in  New  York, 
dies,  13  Nov.,  aged.7o. 
1884.  Cincinnati  has  a  three  days'  reign  of  mob  rule 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  327 

and  terror,  (28-30  March) ;  the  trouble  originates 
in  the  maladministration  of  justice,  the  particu- 
lar case  being  the  rendition  by  a  jury  of  a  verdict 
of  manslaughter  against  William  Berner  in  the 
face  of  the  clearest  evidence  convicting  him  of 
the  brutal  murder  of  William  Kirk.  The  mob 
first  attack  and  fire  the  jail,  and  then  burn  and 
gut  the  Court-house  in  spite  of  the  presence  and 
bullets  of  the  militia ;  42  are  killed,  and  120 
wounded. 

May  :  Failure  of  James  R.  Keene,  who  is 
said  to  have  lost  a  fortune  of  $4,000,000 ;  in  the 
following  week,  the  Marine  Bank,  of  which 
James  D.  Fish  is  president,  fails  with  heavy  lia- 
bilities ;  this  causes  the  suspension  of  the  firm 
of  Grant  &  Ward,  in  which  Gen.  Grant  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  silent  partner,  almost  immediately, 
with  liabilities  estimated  at  $8,000,000;  and  the 
Metropolitan  Bank  succumbs,  (14).  General 
Grant  is  induced  to  borrow  $150,000  of  Wil- 
liam H.  Vanderbilt,  for  one  day,  but  the  money 
is  received  too  late  to  save  the  bankrupt  firm. 
The  General  mortgages  all  his  property  to  Mr. 
Vanderbilt,  and  is  said  to  have  lost  his  entire 
savings.  A  relief  fund  is  at  once  started  for  his 
benefit,  Mr.  Vanderbilt  generously  offering  to 
cancel  the  General's  indebtedness  to  him  for 
Mrs.  Grant's  benefit,  but  the  General  and  his 
wife  decline.  Fish  and  Ward  are  subsequently 
arrested,  and  locked  up  in  Ludlow  Street  jail. 

The  National  Republican  Convention  is  held  at 
Chicago,  convening  3  June ;  Blaine  and  Logan 
are  nominated. 

The  Arctic  relief  squadron,  consisting  of  the 
Bear,  the  Thetis,  and  the  Alert,  which  sailed  from 
New  York  in  May  under  command  of  Commander 
W.  S.  Schley,  U.  S.  N.,  to  rescue  Lieut.  A.  W. 
Greely,  U.  S.  A.,  and  the  members  of  his  scientific 
expedition  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  find  Lieut. 
Greely,  Sergeant  Brainard,  Sergeant  Fredericks, 


328  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

Sergeant  Long,  Hospital-Steward  Bieberbeck, 
and  Private  Connell  alive  near  the  mouth  of 
Smith's  Sound,  22  June ;  Sergeant  Ellison  is 
among  the  survivors,  but  he  dies  shortly  after 
the  rescue ;  all  the  rest  of  the  party  are  dead. 
The  relief  squadron  reaches  Portsmouth  harbor 
on  the  return,  i  Aug.,  where  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  with  several  war-vessels,  is  in  waiting  to 
greet  the  survivors. 

The  National  Democratic  Convention  is  held  at 
Chicago,  opening  8  July ;  Cleveland  and  Hen- 
dricks  nominated. 

The  Presidential  election  is  held  4  Nov. ,  and 
results  in  the  election  of  Messrs.  Cleveland  and 
Hendricks.  The  Democratic  ticket  receives 
4,911,017  popular  and  219  electoral  votes 
1885.  A  bill  to  place  Gen.  Grant  on  the  retired  list 
of  the  army  is  passed  in  the  Senate,  14  Jan.,  but 
is  lost  in  the  House,  16  Feb.  ;  the  House  passes 
the  bill  4  March. 

President  Cleveland  withdraws  the  Nicaragua 
Canal  and  Spanish  reciprocity  treaties  from  the 
Senate  for  further  consideration,  12  March.  He 
issues  a  proclamation,  13,  warning  all  white 
settlers  off  the  Oklahoma  country,  Indian  Terri- 
tory. 

James  D.  Fish,  president  of  the  suspended 
Marine  Bank,  of  New  York,  and  secretly  con- 
nected with  the  firm  of  Grant  and  Ward,  is  found 
guilty  on  charges  of  misappropriation  of  funds, 
ii  April,  and  is  sentenced  to  10  years'  imprison- 
ment, at  hard  labor,  at  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y.,  22  June. 

Ferdinand  Ward  is  indicted ;  he  pleads  not 
guilty,  5  ;  is  tried,  convicted,  and  sentenced  to 
10  years'  imprisonment  at  hard  labor,  at  Sing 
Sing,  N.  Y.,  i  Nov. 

A  diplomatic  understanding  is  effected  between 
the  U.  S.  State  Department  and  the  British 
Minister  at  Washington  for  the  extension  of  the 
privileges  secured  by  the  fishery  clause  of  the 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  329 

treaty  of  Washington  throughout  the  season  now 
opened,  official  notice  of  which  is  given,  25  June. 

Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  ex-President  of  the  U.  S.9 
dies  at  Mt.  McGregor,  N.  Y.,  23  July,  aged  63. 

The  first  session  of  the  49th  Congress  is  opened, 
7  Dec.;  Hon.  John  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  is  elected 
preside ntpro  tern  of  the  Senate,  and  Hon.  John 
G.  Carlisle,  of  Ky.,  Speaker  of  the  House. 

Senator  Hoar's  Presidential  Succession  Bill 
is  passed  by  the  Senate,  17  Dec. 

Congress  votes  a  pension  of  $5000  per  annum 
to  the  widow  of  ex-President  Grant,  18  Dec. 

Prof.  John  C.  Draper,  of  New  York,  dies,  20 
Dec. 

1886.  Senator  Hoar's  Presidential  Succession  Bill 
is  passed  in  the  House  by  a  vote  of  183  to  77,  15 
Jan.,  and  is  approved  by  the  President,  19. 
1886.  The  House  passes  a  bill  to  increase  the  pen- 
sions of  widows  and  dependent  survivors  of 
Union  soldiers  from  $8  to  $12  per  month,  i  Feb. 

Gen.  Winfield  Scott  Hancock,  U.  S.  A.  com- 
manding'the  Military  Department  of  the  Atlantic,, 
and  one  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  the  civil 
war  on  the  Union  side,  dies  on  Governor's  Island, 
New  York,  9  Feb.,  aged  62. 

Hon.  Horatio  Seymour,  ex-Governor  of  New 
York,  dies  at  Utica,  12  Feb.,  aged  75. 

John  B.  Gough,  the  famous  temperance  orator, 
dies  at  Frankfort,  Penna.,  while  on  a  lecturing 
tour,  17  Feb.,  aged  68. 

The  U.  S.  Senate  passes  a  bill  appropriating 
$25,000  for  a  monument  to  ex-President  Grant, 
to  be  erected  ia  Washington,  23  Feb. 

President  Cleveland  sends  a  message  to  the 
Senate,  I  March,  forcibly  stating  his  views  as  to 
the  right  of  that  body  to  demand  from  the  Ex- 
ecutive the  various  papers  considered  by  him  in 
connection  with  removals  from  office,  claiming 
that  all  such  information  is  of  a  strictly  confi- 
dential character,  to  be  used  only  for  the  benefit 


330  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

of  the  country  as  an  aid  to  the  Executive  in  dis- 
charging his  duty  in  the  matter  of  appointments 
and  removals.  The  Senate,  under  the  lead  of 
Senator  Edmunds,  decides  by  a  majority  of  i, 
that  it  has  the  right  to  call  for  all  such  docu- 
ments. 

The  U.  S.  Senate  passes  the  Blair  Educational 
Bill,  which  provides  for  an  appropriation  of 
$79,000,000  to  be  distributed  among  the  States 
on  the  basis  of  the  illiteracy  of  persons  over  10 
years  of  age,  except  in  the  cases  of  the  white 
and  colored  schools,  where  it  is  to  be  distributed 
on  the  basis  of  illiterate  persons  of  school  age, 
5  March. 

A  general  order  is  issued,  taking  effect  6 
March,  directing  the  Knights  of  Labor  to  boycott 
the  Gould  Railroad  System  in  the  southwest ;  as 
a  result  fatal  conflicts  between  the  striking  rail- 
road men,  on  the  one  side,  and  county  officials 
and  State  militia,  on  the  other,  occur  at  Fort 
Worth,  Texas,  I  April,  and  East  St.  Louis,  9. 
Boycotting  is  resorted  to  very  generally  through- 
out^  the  U.  S.  during  March  and  April,  the 
Knights  of  Labor  ordering  the  majority  of  work - 
ingmen  to  strike  for  increased  wages,  shorter 
hours,  or  both. 

An  eight-hour  demonstration  is  made  by  40,000 
workingmen  in  Chicago,  i  May  ;  the  anar- 
chists parade  the  streets  with  red  flags,  indulge 
in  incendiary  language,  and,  precipitating  a  riot, 
explode  a  dynamite  bomb,  with  fatal  effects,  in 
the  midst  of  the  police.  The  mob  is  repressed, 
15,  and  a  number  of  the  most  violent  anarchists 
are  arrested,  and  charged  with  the  murder  of 
the  police  officers,  and  with  inciting  to  riot. 

Hon.  Grover  Cleveland,  President  of  the  U.  S., 
is  married  to  Miss  Frances  Folsom,  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Byron  G.  Sunderland,  in  the  Executive 
Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C.,  2  June. 

Most  Rev.  James  Gibbons,   Roman    Catholic 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  331 

Archbishop  of  Baltimore  and  Primate  of  the 
Church  in  the  U.  S.,  is  created  t .  Cardinal  in  the 
consistory  of  17  June,  and  is  solemnly  invested 
with  the  berretta  in  his  cathedral,  30. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden,  ex-Governor  of  New  York, 
and  Democratic  candidate  for  President  in  1876, 
dies  at  Greystone,  his  country  seat  on  the 
Hudson,  near  Yonkers.  N.  Y.,  4  August,  aged  72. 

The  amount  paid  by  the  U.  S.  Government 
for  pensions  during  the  year  ending  30  June  is 
$63,797,831,  to  365,783  pensioners. 

Eight  of  the  Chicago  anarchists  are  found 
guilty  of  murder  (20  Aug.);  7  are  sentenced  to  be 
hanged,  and  one  to  be  imprisoned  for  life. 

An  earthquake  shock  is  felt  throughout  a  large 
part  of  the  U.  S.,  east  of  the  Mississippi  (about 
10  p.  m.,  31  Aug.).  It  is  particularly  severe  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  where  many  buildings  are 
destroyed  and  sixty-one  persons  are  killed.  Other 
shocks  take  place  during  September  and  Octo- 
ber ;  a  large  part  of  the  city  is  destroyed,  millions 
of  damage  being  done,  and  thousands  of  people 
rendered  homeless.  Subscriptions  for  their  relief 
are  taken  up  all  through  the  United  States. 

Geronimo  and  a  number  of  Apaches  surrender 
(4  Sep.)  to  Gen.  Miles,  in  Skeleton  Canyon, 
Arizona,  and  are  imprisoned  at  Fort  Marion,  St. 
Augustine,  Fla. 

Bartholdi's  statue  of  ' '  I/iberty  Enlightening 
the  World,"  on  Bedloe's  Island,  N.  Y.  Harbor, 
is  formally  unveiled  with  imposing  ceremonies, 
including  a  grand  naval  parade  and  a  procession 
on  land  (28  Oct.). 

Chester  Alan  Arthur,  Ex-President  of  the  U. 
S.,  dies  at  N.  Y.  City  (18  Nov.),  aged  56. 

Gen.  John  Alex.  Logan,  G.  A.  R.,  senator  from 
Illinois,  dies  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  (26  Dec.), 
aged  60. 

1887.  The  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  dies  in  Brook- 
lyn (8  Mar.),  of  apoplexy,  aged  73. 


332  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

1888.  Election  of  the  Republican  candidates,  Ben- 
jamin Harrison,  President  and  Levi  P.  Morton, 
Vice-President. 

1889.  May  31.  The  Johnstown  Flood,  caused  by  the 
breaking  of  a  reservoir  embankment  during  a 
severe  freshet.    An  avalanche  of  water,  half  a  mile 
in  width  and  nearly  forty  feet  in  height,  swept 
through  the  Conemaugh  Valley,  Pennsylvania, 
at  the  rate  of  two  miles  and  a   half  in  a  minute, 
and  $io,ooo,coo  of  property  was  destroyed,  and 
the   loss  of   life  was   variously  estimated   from 
2280  to  5000 persons,  mostly  women  and  children. 

1890.  McKinley  bill  passed,  followed  by  a  Demo- 
cratic tidal  wave. 

The  Sioux  Indians  of  the  Northwest  become 
restive,  and  believe  that  a  Messiah  is  coming  to 
restore  the  Indians  to  control  of  their  ancient 
domains.  In  December  an  attempt  to  disarm  the 
Indians  at  Wounded  Knee  resulted  in  a  battle  in 
which  two  hundred  were  killed,  including  many 
Indian  women  and  children. 

1891.  Serious  dispute  with  Chili  owing  to  an  attack 
on  United  States  seamen  by  a  inob  at  Valparaiso. 
Chili  hesitates  to  give  redress,  whereupon  the 
American  fleet  is  ordered  to  prepare  for  an  emer- 
gency.    Chili  finally  makes   apology  and  offers 
indemnity. 

1892.  The  Presidential   campaign,  with   Harrison 
and  Cleveland  again  opposed  to  each  other  on 
the  tariff  issue. 

Serious  riots  occur  at  Homestead,  Pennsylvania, 
over  a  dispute  as  to  terms  of  employment  between 
the  Carnegie  Company  and  its  workingmen.  The 
operatives  quit  work,  and  upon  an  attempt  being 
made  to  land  a  number  of  strangers  as  alleged 
deputy  sheriffs  a  battle  ensues  in  which  a  number 
were  killed  and  wounded.  The  militia  are  or- 
dered out,  and  martial  law  proclaimed  at  Home- 
stead. Order  is  at  length  restored.  During  the 
excitement  an  anarchist  from  the  vicinity  of  New 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  333 

York  who  had  no  connection  with  the  strikers, 
attempted  to  assassinate  Mr.  Frick,  chairman  of 
the  Carnegie  Company,  in  his  office,  and  wounded 
him,  but  not  fatally. 

October.  The  World's  Columbian  Exposition 
dedicated  at  Chicago,  but  not  opened  until  the 
following  year. 

November.  Election  of  Cleveland  and  Ste- 
venson, and  another  Democratic  tidal  wave. 
1893.  Revolution  in  Hawaii,  the  Queen  overthrown 
and  a  Provisional  Government  established,  which 
at  once  proceeds  to  negotiate  for  annexation  to 
the  United  States.  A  treaty  to  that  effect  is  sub- 
mitted to  the  Senate  by  President  Harrison. 

President  Cleveland  recalls  the  Hawaiian 
treaty,  but  his  object  in  doing  so  does  not  be- 
come public  until  November.  He  sends  the 
Hon.  James  H.  Blount,  of  Georgia,  as  Commis- 
sioner to  Hawaii. 

Repeal  of  the  Sherman  Silver  Purchase  Act  at 
special  session  of  Congress. 

President  Cleveland  makes  an  effort  to  secure 
the  withdrawal  from  power  of  President  Dole 
and  the  remainder  of  the  Hawaiian  Provisional 
Government  and  the  restoration  of  the  deposed 
Queen,  Liliuokalani,  otherwise  known  as  "  Mrs. 
Dominis,"  on  the  ground  that  the  Queen's  de- 
position had  been  brought  about  through  wrong- 
ful interference  on  the  part  of  former  United 
States  Minister  Stevens.  The  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment refuses  to  surrender,  and  prepares  to 
defend  itself  by  force,  if  necessary.  Thereupon 
President  Cleveland  adopts  a  less  positive  atti- 
tude, and  the  controversy  gradually  ceases.  The 
Hawaiian  policy  of  the  President  was  warmly 
debated  in  the  Senate  and  House.  In  the  House 
the  President  was  ostensibly  indorsed ;  in  the 
Senate  the  President  was  not  condemned,  but  a 
decided  stand  was  taken  in  favor  of  American 
control  over  Hawaii  and  therefore  in  sympathy 
with  the  Provisional  Government. 


334  HAND  BOOK  FOR 

The  World's  Columbian  Exposition  was 
opened  in  May  of  this  year.  All  civilized  and 
semi-civilized  nations  of  the  earth  participated. 
The  Exposition  grounds  on  the  lake  front  cov- 
ered more  than  a  square  mile,  and  contained 
numerous  huge  buildings,  whose  perfect  propor- 
tions, classic  architecture,  and  artistic  arrange- 
ment made  the  White  City  famous  throughout 
the  world.  The  total  cost  of  the  Exposition  was 
in  excess  of  $31,000,000,  and  during  the  six 
months  of  its  continuance  the  turnstiles  recorded 
more  than  21,000,000  paid  admissions. 
1894.  A  source  of  much  hardship  had  been  the  law, 
passed  as  an  experiment  some  years  ago,  prevent- 
ing soldiers  in  the  United  States  army  from  re- 
enlisting  after  ten  years'  service,  as  it  resulted  in 
driving  worthy  and  valuable  men  out  of  the  ser- 
vice. This  law  was  therefore  repealed ;  and,  in 
its  place,  it  was  enacted  that : 

"  Hereafter  all  enlistments  in  the  army  shall  be 
for  the  term  of  three  years,  and  no  soldier  shall 
be  again  enlisted  in  the  army  whose  service  dur- 
ing his  last  preceding  term  of  enlistment  has  not 
been  honest  and  faithful ;  and  in  time  of  peace 
no  person  (except  an  Indian)  who  is  not  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  or  who  has  not  made  legal 
declaration  of  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  or  who  cannot  speak,  read, 
and  write  the  English  language,  or  who  is  over 
thirty  years  of  age,  shall  be  enlisted  for  the  first 
enlistment  in  the  army." 

The  struggle  over  the  Wilson  Tariff  Bill  occu- 
pied the  time  of  Congress. 

During  the  latter  part  of  August,  forest  fires 
broke  put  in  portions  of  Minnesota,  Wisconsin, 
and  Michigan,  culminating,  September  i,  in  the 
partial  or  entire  destruction  of  a  number  of 
towns.  The  loss  of  life  was  estimated  at  650,  and 
the  loss  of  property  at  $  12, 000,000,  exclusive  of 
standing  timber  destroyed.  The  thrilling  and 


AMERICAN  CITIZENS.  335 

heartrending  incidents  of  this  vast  and  wide- 
spread calamity  would  furnish  ample  material 
for  an  entire  volume.  In  a  stretch  of  territory  in 
Minnesota,  twenty-six  miles  long  and  fifteen 
wide,  not  a  single  human  habitation  was  left 
standing.  The  smoke  from  the  fires  rendered 
navigation  dangerous  on  all  the  great  lakes  ex- 
cept Lake  Ontario. 

The  most  destructive  forest  fires  previous  to 
those  above  named,  in  the  history  of  the  country, 
occurred,  the  first  in  October,  1871,  in  Wisconsin 
and  Michigan,  when  2000  persons  perished  in 
the  flames,  and  inestimable  financial  damage  was 
entailed;  the  second  in  September,  1881,  in 
Michigan,  when  300  lives  were  lost,  together  with 
an  immense  amount  of  property. 

A  large  district  in  Texas,  west  of  San  Antonio, 
was,  late  in  October,  swept  by  a  flood,  resulting 
in  the  drowning  of  several  hundred  persons, 
together  with  immense  destruction  of  property. 
Half  the  houses  in  the  town  of  Uvalde  were 
swept  away  ;  the  town  of  D'hanis  was  completely 
submerged  ;  and  thousands  of  cattle  and  horses 
perished.  The  weight  of  damage  rests  upon  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  estimated  at  $1,200,- 
ooo. 

November.  The  Republicans  swept  the  North, 
electing  L,evi  P.  Morton  Governor  of  New  York, 
and  carrying  nearly  every  State  in  which  elec- 
tions were  held.  The  victory  is  supposed  to  have 
been  due  chiefly  to  the  depressing  effect  of  tariff 
uncertainty  on  business,  and  in  New  York  in 
a  large  degree  to  the  revelations  of  municipal 
corruption  before  the  I/exow  Investigating  Com- 
mittee. 

1895.  The  leading  event  of  American  interest  has 
been  the  uprising  of  Cuban  republicans  against 
the  Spanish  Government.  Spain,  doubtless, 
with  a  view  of  propitiating  the  United  States,  has 
paid  the  long-pending  Mora  claim  for  damage 


336  HANDBOOK. 

to  the  property  of  an  American  citizen.  Senti- 
ment throughout  the  United  States,  is  strongly 
favorable  to  Cuba. 

In  New  York  City  much  agitation  has  been 
caused  by  the  enforcement  of  the  law  requiring 
saloons  to  be  closed  on  Sunday. 

November.  The  Republicans  carry  nearly  all 
the  States  in  which  elections  are  held,  including 
Kentucky  and  Maryland. 


THE  END. 


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